
Qass_ 
Book- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE WIFE 

HER BOOK 



BY 



HAYDN BROWN, M. D. 




PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO. 

PUBLISHERS 






J a' wo t/opies rtbti- ■ j. 



Copyright 1907 
By Georgb W. Jacobs & Co, 



Published August, 1907. 



CONTENTS 



CHAP. PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY 1 

I. BEFORE MARRIAGE 10 

II. THE MARRIAGE 27 

III. THE HONEYMOON 31 

IV. THE WIFE'S CARE OF HEALTH 34 

V. PREGNANCY: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 45 

VI. SOME OBVIOUS CHANGES THAT TAKE 
PLACE IN A WOMAN DURING PREG- 
NANCY 53 

VII. THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF PREG- 
NANCY 58 

VIII. AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR 70 

IX. LIFE DURING PREGNANCY— DIET AND EX- 
ERCISE 81 

X. POSTURE AND PREGNANCY 101 

XI. DRESS DURING PREGNANCY 108 

XII. MISCARRIAGE 114 

XIII. DOCTORS, MIDWIVES, AND NURSES 134 

XIV. LABOR EXPLAINED 142 

XV. THE FIRST INDICATIONS OF THE AP- 
PROACH OF LABOR 150 

XVL SENDING FOR NURSE AND DOCTOR 154 

XVII. PERSONAL AND BED-CLOTHING FOR CON- 
FINEMENT 160 

XVIII. SOME ARTICLES USEFUL AT A CONFINE- 
MENT 163 



CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 

XIX. THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD INTO THE 

WORLD 168 

XX. THE DOCTOR'S DUTIES 183 

XXL SELF-CONTROL OR CHLOROFORM? 190 

XXII. SOME DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED 194 

XXm. THE FEW DAYS AFTER LABOR 201 

XXIV. THE NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 211 

XXV. SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS THAT MAY 

FOLLOW CHILDBIRTH 226 

XXVI. ON DOUCHING AND SYRINGING 236 

XXVII. HOW AN INFANT SHOULD BE TREATED. ... 240 
XXVIII. CERTAIN CONDITIONS OF THE INFANT 

THAT MAY CAUSE ANXIETY 246 

XXIX. THE BLESSING OF CHILDREN 258 

XXX. CONCEPTION 264 

XXXL STERILITY 280 

XXXIL THE SIZE OF FAMILIES AND LIMITATION. . 288 

XXXIII. JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 292 

XXXIV. UNFAITHFULNESS 308 

XXXV. ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 316 

XXXVL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 322 

INDEX 327 



THE WIFE: HER BOOK 



INTRODUCTORY 

No woman has lived a complete life who has not 
been a mother ; and not even a child has provided full 
and satisfactory complement, unless it has been born 
in lawful wedlock. The perpetuating product of 
natural association of the sexes is an expression of a 
great Creator's dominating and Divine desire through- 
out Nature, but when a highly civilized human pitch 
of excellency is reached an artificial selection enters 
that makes minds, that are very capable, at once 
hesitating, diffident, and perhaps very intolerant. 
Among animals, more males than one may consort 
with a female, or more females than one with a male, 
as the case may be, according to wild roaming chance 
or casual predilection ; but, among human beings, 
deeply divined processes of limitation operate to the 
end that the best shall accrue, for, where brainis are 
big, much of either good or evil may generate and 
evolve, and while all appears to be making for the 
best, a control of wise counsel and salutary law takes 
man and woman to church, or other equally binding 
institution, designing that the last state may be always 
better than the first all along. 

Not every woman can become blessed as a mother; 
not everyone can be happily joined together in Holy 
matrimony. Many may do their praiseworthy best; 
most may be eminently successful. It may not be a 
crime to fail in contributing to propagate and per- 



2 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

petuate, but that to be single is unfortunate is elo- 
quently exemplified by the fact that among the highest 
interests of life are observed to be those that parents 
have for the welfare of offspring. 

Yet in married life there is suffering as well as joy, 
pain as well as pleasure, disappointment as well 
as triumph, failure as well as success. We shall 
read much of all these things in the following pages. 

I want to place myself on comfortable terms with the 
reader at the outset, to be rightly understood. A 
medical man must not be taken in any of these pages 
for an inhuman being who has no eye for the sweet and 
beautiful, simply because he is so constantly viewing 
disorder, misery, and misfortune. He has so often 
to treat abnormality, but always hopes that he does 
not intensify it when studying it and writing of it. 
Nearly every one of the laity, male or female, taking 
up a medical journal or book and reading a few pages 
dealing with various diseases is inclined to develop 
the feeling that ill-health is very horrible, and so 
unpleasantly near at hand that it is better to put the 
book away and think of something else. You can 
read until you imagine you are suffering there and 
then, or that you will very soon be in the actual 
agonies. A medical man^s book of information cannot 
be expected to be pleasant reading on every page. If 
it were it would be deceiving. Therefore the reader 
must all the time be warned when going over certain 
pages of abnormality — of difficulty — and distress — 
that the chances are always immensely in favor of no such 
thing happening in her own case. In my experience I 
have times without number listened to tales of un- 
happy expectations and disquieting forebodings that 
have all proved to have been unnecessarily conceived. 
Very few married women undergo one fraction of the 



INTRODUCTORY 3 

terrible ordeal that they are so frequently taught by 
their own friends to look forward to. Yet for all that, 
the possible should be known and the exception borne 
in mind. There is no reason why women should not 
seek to protect themselves by learning something of 
unpleasant variations that occur now and then, which, 
notwithstanding, help to comfortably prove the 
heaven-sent rule, that the greatest blessings and hap- 
piness are to be had in most instances, and arrive 
happily to the pure, the patient, and the faithful. 
There must ever be an amount of abnormality in the 
minimum; it should be our abiding intention to keep 
down this minimum and strive to make for better 
rather than permit worse to overwhelm us. 

Nor am I one who looks upon woman as a child- 
bearing machine. Far from it. While thinking that 
child-bearing is the highest of all human functions, 
and while observing every day that it is of all things 
the most desired of right-thinking and perceiving 
women, I would have the privilege considered as an 
event carrying with it but few disadvantages, provided 
Nature be fairly and sensibly allowed to do her un- 
wearying and wonderful work. I w^ould wish woman 
were less a machine than even she herself would allow, 
for offspring-bearing as exemplified in unhindered 
Nature, is an event that does not appear so cruelly out 
of keeping and disproportionate. Woman really 
comes, in her own estimate, to be more of a machine 
in many ways than she ought to be, because she is so 
often very unnatural. Remember, it is woman herself 
who so often prefers artificiality to naturalness ; it is 
often idle, therefore, for her to envy man when she con- 
siders how much more she suffers than he. 

Woman should be creation's beautifying and soften- 
ing influence in all her being and action; she should, in 



4 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

her virtue, neutralize and negative an inevitable 
amount of artificial harshness there is in the world; 
she should in every way endeavor to constitute the 
antithesis of the grosser masculine; and Nature has 
undoubtedly designed that in her highest office woman 
should accept all with grace, deriving even pleasure in 
a certain amount of subdued and divinely-made 
endurable pain. It is given to her to do so. 

The critic might touch me on the shoulder as I write 
and advise me, whatever I do, not to include anything 
that may tend to alarm or offend a sensitive reader. I 
am prepared for this critic. It does not follow that 
because certain women consider child-bearing a mere 
nothing, I should be right in advising most women to 
expect it to be a mere trifle. Some suffer nothing. 
Many must endure much. 

I shall refer to no subject in this book but what I 
consider is necessary for a wife to study. The fact is, 
my reader, we have reached an era when plain truths 
should be told in a plain tongue, when even ignorance 
had better be informed, and when every help ought to 
be given to educate in all matters that make for phy- 
sical efficiency. The scales of our eyes are fast falling, 
and we are now obtaining the clearest insight into the 
rapidity with which physical and mental degeneracy 
is reducing the most advanced and civilized of peoples 
like a slowly devouring demon ; after a study of our 
statistics and records, after our personal examination, 
we now begin to dread our inability to cope with the 
ever-increasing numbers of the physically and mentally 
degenerate that crowd our benevolent and supporting 
institutions. I must write of facts. I may feel obliged 
to refer to what some may consider alarming and 
unpleasant things ; but the reader must recollect that 
it is only exaggerations that should be reprehensible. 



INTRODUCTORY 5 

It is quite commonly understood that the majority 
of all the disorders that human beings suffer from, 
belong to the female sex. A doctor's duties are directed 
for the most part against the sufferings of the more 
helpless women and children, with now and then a 
man to make a change. And while men are victims 
of ill-health and injury brought about by peculiarities 
of employment, and from the dangers of their sport 
and warfare, women more particularly suffer from 
conditions that have some relation to the function of 
child-bearing — from certain troubles that are directly 
referable, to the organs of generation, whether while 
passing through the menstrual and maternal stages of 
single or married life respectively, or still later, when 
all these things have ceased. 

A woman, has a lot that is cast among hard lines 
in the wonderful scheme of Nature. Let it be borne in 
mind that no other being is required to suffer the 
inconvenience, and as often as not the pain, of periodic 
function as a woman does ; and not only must she 
often suffer so much loss of substance, but she is not 
infrequently bound down to a kind of life that may be 
calculated of itself to be more or less reducing to the 
general health. Female animals pay little or no 
regard to a pregnant condition, or to parturition, which 
come and go as they may. A woman is obliged to 
domesticate herself to her condition less or more ; less 
during the pains and anguish that sometimes accom- 
pany her ordinary monthly affairs, and more when she 
is conspicuous and heavily laden. Therefore the 
reader will see that her lot may be one that is hard to 
bear, and the performance of her peculiar functions 
may be difficult to survive when, added to them, there 
is such a weakened and debilitated state of the system, 
brought about simply through being "cribbed, cabined, 



6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

and confined/' as renders her but a poor comparison 
to the hardened, more active, stronger-muscled male, 
who never has occasion to nurse the same kind of 
troubles. 

Animals bear offspring far more easily than do 
highly-sensitive and delicate-minded women. They 
are better prepared for the heavier months of preg- 
nancy, and their recovery is far more rapid. The 
human erect posture entails disabilities and disad- 
vantages from a purely offspring-bearing point of view 
which cannot occur to four-footed creatures, that have 
the weight of their gravid abdomen more comfortably 
supported on all fours. The whole function with them 
is as nothing compared, and, while it is shorter, it is 
also generally endured under more healthy circum- 
stances in the majority of instances, taking all things 
into account. 

The comparative secrecy which must surround 
some simple illnesses that occur among women, on 
account of the delicacy of human ideas and customs, 
not only contributes to a certain extent to more serious 
forms of ill-health, but it limits the complaints of the 
sufferer to the four walls of her chamber so to speak. 
Her natural modesty and womanly reserve keep back 
her cries of distress. She must not too readily com- 
plain. She must hardly cry aloud, for it is not right 
that everyone should hear her complaints, and she 
must be careful to whom she confides if help or advice 
is required. A man can run to the dentist, holding his 
swollen face, and no one will trouble much about him ; 
but a woman must not say much about her pain in the 
back or her bearing down. She must of necessity 
suffer much in silence and endure a great deal entirely 
within herself. 

The necessity for such a book as this may possibly 



INTRODUCTORY ^ 

become more apparent as the circumstances that 
surround the ailments of woman, whether as wife or 
mother, are taken into account. All the help a man 
may require to see him through life he can have almost 
for the mere asking; but a woman may often feel it 
necessary to endure pains a hundred times over before 
being forced to detail her difficulties ; she is long-suffer- 
ing because she is a woman. 

Before turning abruptly to our main object let us 
consider another introductory point that bears strongly 
on the question of sex inequalities and necessities. It 
so happens that those who have the ill-health of women 
to deal with are of the opposite sex — with such excep- 
tions as are hardly worth referring to. Those who 
exclaim "Fortunately !'' do so because they know what 
skill, what kindness and consideration, and what 
humanity they always receive from the opposite sex. 
There certainly can be some little excuse for the few 
who hold the opposite opinion, because one can well 
imagine that if women doctors were as numerous and 
as strong in judgment under all emergencies as men, 
there would be many employed simply on account of 
sex sensitiveness alone. Such points concerning 
human nature and the sexes need no enlarging upon 
here — they are already well understood. 

But supposing women would rather complain to 
women than to men, are there not a few things that 
a woman would like to know, and even ought, without 
consulting anyone in person? It is quite true that 
medical men are sufficiently numerous and available 
to give advice and regulate the course of procedure in 
all cases of difficulty; but there are very many con- 
ditions and states of health that are not sufficiently 
serious for skilled intervention, and which could be 
attended to quite well by the sufferer herself before 



8 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

worse should befall. A little knowledge is not always 
a dangerous thing; it certainly is not when possessed 
by a woman who is likely to become a mother. She 
can, when armed with her little information make 
matters infinitely more comfortable for herself, and in 
not a few instances she may prevent many of the more 
serious consequences ; she may even thus save her own 
and her future child's life, directly or indirectly. 

As regards her nervous system alone, how much 
comfort and peace of mind a woman might secure if 
she could satisfy herself as regards certain contin- 
gencies and the way to meet them. What suspense 
might be relieved, what agonies of mind as well as 
body assuaged, did she have just a little knowledge! 
One often hears such an expression as this : *'If I had 
only sent for the doctor sooner !'' On the other hand, 
a woman will sometimes remark: *'I need not have 
sent for the doctor ; it was nothing much/' Therefore 
women ought to know firstly, how rarely they need 
ever have any anxiety about themselves, and how 
usual it is that all goes well ; secondly, in exceptional 
instances, how and when they may best relieve and 
save. They should endeavor to enlarge their infor- 
mation and acquire a finer judgment both as to what 
they should do themselves and when they should seek 
the help of others. Many lives are lost through know- 
ing and doing nothing, valuable time being wasted, 
early simple signs not being understood ; on the other 
hand, a great deal of mischief may often be done by 
rashly doing or thinking the wrong thing. And the 
right book must be read ; it must not be too deep, and 
should be one intended for the lay reader. A woman 
once visited me with swollen legs, terrified by the idea 
that she was suffering from elephantiasis. She had 
found in some book of reference intended for doctors, 



INTRODUCTORY 9 

that this was the disease which swollen legs indicated. 
As a fact elephantiasis is a rare foreign disease. 

"Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, 
Lie in three words — health, peace, and competence." 

—POPE. 



CHAPTER I 

BEFORE MARRIAGE. 

Before taking a preliminary glance at the subject of 
married life, it will be of advantage to the reader to 
make a short and simple study of woman as she exists, 
and as she ought to exist, before she reaches this im- 
portant stage of life. It is true that this book is written 
particularly for wives and mothers, but just a glance 
at what has been, and what might have been, before 
marriage will help a study of what is now, and 
will enable wives to understand and instruct their 
friends who may soon be candidates for the state of 
Holy matrimony, as also mothers who have daughters 
to bring up. 

The developing and perfecting of the human body, 
that it may be a meet and right medium for the care- 
taking of a mind; the collecting together of physical 
and thoughtful capabilities, in order that adulthood 
may be arrived at and some maturity attained — these 
are the ends to which development from birth to full 
growth should proceed, and to which Nature faithfully 
directs her best attention ; and these should be the 
objects of parental guardianship. 

Now, in order to study the sex fully we must watch 
a woman develop, and see how she arrives at her em- 
bodied and completed self. No two women are alike, 
and it follows from this that some women are much 
better than others — some more fitted to become wives 

lO 



BEFORE MARRIAGE n 

and mothers. Nearly all sorts and conditions of 
women can become wives and mothers, it is true; we 
well know that the plain marry as well as the pretty; 
the deformed as well as the well-shapen : even those 
who have been advised, nay, forbidden by the highest 
opinion to wed, on account of physical or mental de- 
ficiencies, have been known to disregard all advice 
and marry. I have seen a woman dwarf wedded to a 
man who was a good deal above the average in weight 
and measurement. 

It cannot be gainsaid that some women are more 
fitted, in structure of frame, in anatomy of body, and 
in sensibility, temperament, or simple intelligence, to 
marry, with the chance of becoming mothers than 
others are. Now, the question suggests itself. What 
kind of women are the most suitable for marriage? 
This is really a large question to answer, and it can 
only be dealt with from different points of view. Let 
us consider shortly the physical fitness first. A woman 
should be of certain size and properly proportioned. 
She should have a framework that is capable of sup- 
porting a certain amount of muscular development and 
aesthetic form. She ought also to have such strength 
and capabilities in this muscular development as will 
fit her to take her place as an average member of hu- 
manity, always bearing in mind that she will of neces- 
sity be usually less strong than her male representa- 
tive. She must be able to engage in such movements, 
exercise, or work, as will enable her to stand as a fair 
example of her sex ; but, what is certainly more to the 
point, she should exhibit that degree of conformation 
and action that denotes ability to perform womanly 
functions in a natural and preferably unaided man- 
ner. 

Perhaps some wives and mothers will be at once 



12 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

inclined to argue with some amount of haste and 
indignation : What women are not women ? as though 
they should urge that anyone of them is decidedly 
good enough to bring another instance of humanity 
into the world. But the records of our lying-in hos- 
pitals, and experience in private practice, teach us that 
there are many who are totally unfit for the function. 
Indeed, one might express oneself in this way: A 
large part of a doctor's work is made up of the assist- 
ance he finds it necessary to give in order to enable 
women, who would be otherwise unable, to produce 
offspring satisfactorily and to recover sufficiently. 

Suppose a wild animal to have a sudden ray of 
intelligence for the once, and it were able to analyze 
fully the conditions and circumstances under which 
humanity exists, how it would single out with amaze- 
ment the various instruments and appliances of a) 
doctor's lying-in bag ! *'How hardly you produce your 
young!" it would say. 'How you must suffer to be 
human! We have the system of natural selection 
going on still where I live ; only the best of us bear 
offspring, with very rare exceptions. It is true that 
these few exceptions have a good chance of dying, poor 
things ; but you see that by this means the excellence 
of the species is kept up, notwithstanding, and that's 
worth a good deal of consideration. We have fewer 
mishaps and much more perfect progeny, with only 
a few deaths ; you have very many mishaps, unhealthy 
and misshapen young, injured and afflicted mothers, 
and many deaths; there's the diiference." 

Women should possess a proper bony framework; 
sufficiently developed and strong enough to agree with 
a fair amount of the muscular strength that is neces- 
sary for her pleasure and health. The bones of the 
pelvis, which form a good deal of the framework and 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 13 

support of the womb — an organ that is altogether con- 
cerned with the development of offspring — must be 
strong enough and of the right form. They must to- 
gether make a cavity of suitable size, and an outlet of 
wide enough space for the passage of a child's head, 
while their outline should be such as adapts itself 
nicely to the compound curvatures of that head and 
the body following. 

The organs of the body concerned with giving birth 
should be well and fully fashioned. Neither deformed 
nor out of place ; neither diseased nor having been sub- 
ject to injury; of right size and proper power; for they 
will all have their duties to perform when the time 
comes. 

The bony framework should have a muscular cover- 
ing that gives contour, provides protection, and enables 
force to be bestowed for the purpose of holding the 
parts together, but much more in order to permit 
movement and general exercise. Energies of all kinds 
are displayed during a lying-in stage, when the general 
movements of the body are supplemented by rare and 
extreme efforts about particular parts. Movements of 
resistance, and movements of slow and strong expul- 
sion, will take place; those concerned with great 
muscles and those involving the delicate action of 
the smallest ; all will have their part to play, and 
should be ready for it. 

But over and above these various bony, organic, and 
force-producing systems, there is another, an even 
mightier one, that of mind. The great directing power 
of all bodily processes and energies — at least all those 
that go beyond what automatic action and instinct 
provide — lies in» the brain. Animals do not and cannot 
exercise much thinking power over their functions. 
Their pains come and go, and are endured with an 



14 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

amount of calmness and indifference that can only be- 
long to beings with very primitive brains and sensa- 
tions. They simply give themselves up to their fate, 
not knowing what is the matter with them; when 
labor overtakes them not being able to think ; instinct 
and reflex action do all there is to do. But highly civi- 
lized and perfected woman has a thinking and knowing 
apparatus ; she has the power of regulating her actions 
and instinctive efforts to a very fine degree. Her pains 
or expulsive forces may be either very considerably 
diminished or increased through brain influence. 

It will thus be seen that women not only require a 
sound body, but a sound brain, in order to be properly 
equipped for the bearing of offspring. Good sense is 
necessary before lying-in, even as it is before marriage 
— and while lying-in, as well as for some time after, if 
everything is to pass off well. The more common 
sense a young woman displays as she grows up to a 
marriageable age the better will her confinements be, 
and the better will her children be. One would not 
advocate the specially-acquired and highly-cultured 
intellects that walk forth from college ; these are not 
altogether the best for motherhood, because they tend 
to make women unnaturally impatient ; nay, they often 
instil into their minds notions that make for a third 
and celibate sex. It is possible for anyone, of either 
sex, to learn too much, if the learning is at all one- 
sided. Some there are who are so educated that they 
eventually cultivate for themselves every sense but 
common-sense. The lady wrangler is certainly not the 
best kind of a woman to endure the pangs of child-bed 
complacently. On a former occasion she could burn 
midnight oil and vow vengeance on ascendant man ; 
and she could even surpass him in acquiring knowl- 
edge, very often; but when married, and having 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 15 

reached the time of her delivery, she will much less 
patiently accept the situation, and be inclined to wish 
that man might bear babies instead. 

It would be idle to proceed to explain in detail, in 
this part of the book, how in the fullness of time any 
condition of bones, organs, muscles, or mind, as they 
are developed in the young unmarried woman, can 
have a very powerful and far-reaching influence on the 
same woman in maternity. It will be quite sufficient 
to note that a deformity of bone may have disastrous 
consequences for both mother and child, if it be so 
pronounced that there is not sufficient room for either 
the enlargement of the foetus or for its advent into the 
world. And it will be equally well understood that 
defective structure or displacement of the womb may 
produce fatal results. If the muscular system be 
weakened, expulsive ef5forts necessary for birth will fall 
short. And, finally, if the brain or nervous system be 
unsound, insanity, fits, or hysteria may enter the situ- 
ation to jeopardize the life of both concerned. 

Then the question naturally comes before us : How 
is a young woman to become, in the fullest sense of 
the word, fit to be a wife and mother? Can she 
exercise sufficient power over herself to govern her 
ultimate fitness? Yes; she can do a great deal with an 
eye to the future, and it is for this reason that I deal 
with this period of life in an early chapter. It is 
precisely because so much can be done before a woman 
arrives at wifehood that I have taken the trouble to 
point out what constitutes a fit and healthy candidate 
for matrimonial honors. It has been noted that every- 
one can marry; but now it will be seen with still 
greater certainty that some are more fit than others. 

What is the young woman to do to prepare herself? 
Before this can be answered, it will be necessary to 



i6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

glance for a moment at the circumstances and sur- 
roundings in which she is brought up, even before 
womanhood, before the period of puberty ; nay, even 
during infancy and childhood. A woman's moulding 
and fashioning begins at her birth. We have noted 
that deformity or deficiency of bone structure affects 
and influences both mother and child at the child-bear- 
ing time. Now, bone is developed during infancy and 
a little later. Almost everyone has either seen or heard 
of rickets, a disease in which the bones of the body be- 
come softened so much that great deformity results. 
Bow-legs are perhaps the commonest manifestations 
of the disease. Sometimes the legs are so bad that a 
surgical operation is necessary in later life to enable 
the victim to walk at all. But not only are the legs 
affected ; the arms are also, and, in fact, all the bones of 
the body. Attention is particularly drawn to the legs 
in the first place, because bow-legs and difficulty in 
walking are most likely to be seen by ordinary people. 
Doctors know full fell that the bones of the head and 
pelvis — that is, the lower-body framework of bone — 
are sometimes seriously affected. 

It might be further interesting for the reader to 
know that a softening of the bones of the arms, as 
well as the legs, ultimately results in their becoming 
curved. This deformity is caused by the rickety child 
crawling on the floor on hands and knees. It cannot 
walk, with its softened and bowed bones ; so it crawls, 
and the arm-bones grow curved also. In this condi- 
tion the head of a rickety child does not "close" 
properly. What are called the fontanelles, or soft 
areas to be found in a new-born babe, remain soft too 
long, instead of being filled up by bone ; and sometimes 
the bone at the back of the head is so thin that it will 
3deld on slight pressure. Therefore, in order that a 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 17 

woman should grow up to normal maturity, it is 
necessary that she be carefully fed and tended 
during infancy and childhood. 

Women little know what far-reaching effects may he 
produced by a baby being reared improperly. Let the 
reader direct her attention for a moment to that un- 
sightly and distressing affection known as "pigeon- 
breast" — in which the rib-bones on either side of the 
breast-bone are sunk in, leaving a marked ridge on the 
chest, the lungs being compressed into a small space — 
in order to realize the importance of a study of the 
subject from infancy upwards. The spine is generally 
also affected in rickets, so that curves make their ap- 
pearance, to give everlasting errors of shape. Hunch- 
backs, twisted spines, short necks, and bent limbs are 
mostly made during the first few months of life, and 
doctors who make a study of these conditions learn 
how readily they may be prevented. 

A good deal of ugliness of the face is caused by 
rickets. Who would have thought that a person's 
features depended a good deal upon how their parents 
attended to them when young? Let mothers think of 
this ; and what mothers are there who have not had as 
much regard for their own features, at some time of 
their life, as will lead them to pay some regard to the 
appearance of their own little ones? Rickets cause a 
bumping and a horrid squareness of the forehead ; the 
teeth also grow out of order and soon decay, and this 
adds considerably to the general plain appearance. 
Yes ; these things are worth thinking about ! 

The young woman therefore has the chance of 
growing up deformed and hideous to look upon, if 
she should have been carelessly looked after when 
young. But suppose her bony deficiencies to have 
spared her face and allowed her to develop features 



i8 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

sufficiently attractive to lead to marriage ; and imagine 
her to have escaped the greater deformities of chest and 
spine referred to; she may still have a considerable 
bowing of legs, and deformity of the body bones, 
which may almost entirely be hidden by the skirt or 
dress; it is possible for women who are very much 
deformed in certain regions easily hidden to get 
married very satisfactorily — that is, to make **good 
matches" — and yet to be entirely unfitted for pro- 
ducing offspring. 

Doctors know so well the meaning of bow-legs, that 
when they have a case of prospective confinement 
before them they take notice of the general configura- 
tion of the body, limbs, and face; very often they 
even find it advisable to ascertain — if superficial obser- 
vations should render suspicion strong enough — to 
what extent the pelvic bones are affected. A slightly 
waddling gait, for instance, is important to note, as an 
expectant patient walks in or out of a room ; it strongly 
suggests flattened bones of the body, which are likely 
to cause serious obstruction when her confinement 
takes place. A simple early discernment of abnormal- 
ity may lead to steps being taken which might, when 
lying-in, save life. 

A rickety child therefore develops such deformities 
of bone as render the body framework abnormal in 
shape in various directions. And considering that the 
bones of exit concerned with the passage of the child 
into the world ought to be most beautifully turned and 
shaped for the complicated movements of a tender 
head passing, so that a birth may be natural and un- 
complicated, the reader will now appreciate the fact 
that in order to consider the question of child-birth 
and its effects on mother and child, fully and at all 
properly, it is quite necessary to make some reference 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 19 

to the formation and development of bone during in- 
fancy and childhood. 

We have not done when we merely recognize such 
a disease as rickets, and consider its effects and in- 
fluences on the lying-in function. The reader must 
yet learn how rickets may be avoided, and how it is 
possible for the young woman to grow up with a 
sufficiently well-formed framework to fit her for safe 
and satisfactory wifehood. There is nothing simpler; 
as an infant she must be fed properly. This is the 
simple secret of the matter. Rickets is a disease 
usually caused by malnutrition, itself produced by im- 
proper food. In exceptional cases, debility of the 
mother, on account of over-suckling and excessive 
child-bearing, will cause it; but unwisely selected 
artificial diet is the commonest cause. 

We shall more fully consider an infant's diet in 
another chapter; a simple reference to the fact that 
mother's milk is best, and starchy foods worst, will be 
sufficient for the present. The primary object of these 
preliminary pages is to emphasize the influence that 
proper treatment during her own infancy and child- 
hood will have on the capability that a mother will 
exhibit of producing offspring. 

There is another entirely different kind of deformity 
of bone that must not be overlooked by any chance. 
It is that caused later on in life by nipping the waist, 
when the lower ribs are pressed inwards in order that 
a corset of very few inches may be worn. It seems 
almost like writing of the habits of some barbarous 
race to refer to the awful custom of squeezing the waist 
in, and binding it there, for the sake of developing 
a form that will be noticed or admired. How very 
similar indeed is it to the Chinese custom of nipping 
the feet down toi a certain size! And one could 



20 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

scarcely say that this habit of our own gentler sex — 
we people who are so very, very advanced, you know 
— so much so, in fact, that we are civilizing out for 
ourselves a third sex of superior celibates — is much 
less to be blamed than several barbarous proceedings 
that savages go in for, such as squeezing the bones of 
the head, bulging out the lips and ears, or putting a 
ring through the nose. Even the fairest of feminine 
perfection, in many ways faultless and blameless per- 
haps, must not forget that ear-rings are still worn by a 
good many. 

Yes, it is perfectly true : as soon as young femininity 
feels that she is a sex unto herself, when the awkward 
age is reached, then the notion of waist measurement 
sets in. Bedroom chats with kindred spirits are most 
fascinating when it comes to personal comparisons. 
A young girl will demonstrate with glee to her envious 
friend, that now she can get into eighteen inches. And 
as to recipes and tips, concerning not only wasp- 
waists but a dozen other enormities, these are eagerly 
sought for, most of which are quite outrageous, and 
sometimes even of a dangerous nature. But no mat- 
ter. Anything to win envy or admiration ! 

But what does so much waist-nipping mean? Sim- 
ply this: that the bones of the region, namely, the 
lower ribs, are forced in to such an extent that 
breathing is rendered difficult, functions are imper- 
fectly performed, the stomach is pressed upon or con- 
stricted, and the whole internal economy is thrown 
out of gear according to the amount of constriction. 

Therefore it behooves those who desire to graduate 
in matrimony to regulate their habits of single days 
and see if there is room for any improvement. Such 
might do worse than study ancient sculpture and see 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 2t 

what was considered beautiful in feet and waists in 
former days of artistic perfection. 

As regards the various internal organs of the body, 
the reader will at once understand that deformities of 
chest bones will cause deformities and injuries to 
organs within, them. A pigeon-breast will conceal 
cramped and ill-developed lungs. A twisted spine will 
also affect internal organs to some extent. Nipped 
waists limit the capacity of the chest and prevent 
free movement : they do more than this, for they press 
or constrict the stomach sometimes so much as to 
seriously interfere with digestion. It is scarcely neces- 
sary to point out that under these circumstances the 
general health — especially if the deformity have ex- 
isted for a long time — must suffer very considerably 
in the end; and the woman who goes to the altar a 
collection of artificiality and deformity will not only 
soon prove a millstone round the neck of her husband, 
on account of her dress and doctor's bills, but will run 
the gauntlet of many dangers and distresses once 
pregnancy sets in. It is one of Nature's most in- 
sinuating and ruthless punishments upon those who 
have been so foolish as to *'nip" in their single days, 
and have at length married, that all that years of sighs 
and suffering have created shall be undone. 

A further effect of unduly constricting the waist is 
to be found lower down in the anatomy. In the erect 
posture which is peculiar to human beings there is 
very great weight thrown on the lower abdomen. If 
the reader will but think for a moment what the 
arrangement of parts is among animals, which have 
their bodies horizontal, she will observe that with 
them the lower abdomen does not press downwards 
on top of the legs, as it were, but forward and away 
from them. Women have^ in consequence of standing 



32 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

upright, the weight of their internal organs pressing 
down upon the organs of generation. The result is, 
that whenever they should suffer from loss of tone in 
the system, the womb, together with its right and left 
wings or ovaries, is very prone to displacement, either 
forwards, backwards, or downwards, as the case may 
be. Now in a consideration like the present, it is most 
necessary to carefully note this point of pressure, be- 
cause a further thought will bring to light still another 
conclusion, that nipping the waist simply adds to the 
pressure downwards of the abdominal contents. So that 
this pernicious habit of tight-lacing is a potent factor 
in the causation of the bending or displacement of 
the womb that is such a common affliction among 
women. 

There is not much wonder that many suffer so much 
during menstruation, when the womb is subjected to 
such ill-treatment. How can a simple monthly dis- 
charge take place properly and painlessly when the 
womb is either pressed, twisted, or bent out of shape? 
And if these things occur in growing girlhood what 
will be found later in life? How is the body with its 
contained womb, so maltreated and deformed during 
years of youth, to .get on when a woman is a wife or 
mother? 

If a girl develop good bones and sound internal 
organs, and if she do not encourage deformity for 
imagined beauty sake, is she then anatomically quite 
perfect for motherhood? Indeed, no. She must have 
a muscular system in proper order and of sufficient 
strength. For two reasons this is necessary. Firstly, 
she must have her general health fairly good, and this 
cannot be so without proper exercise and development 
of muscle. And secondly, her powers of expulsion, 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 23 

necessary for bringing the child into the world, must 
be sufficiently strong. 

A fair amount of open-air exercise is what is wanted. 
Girls are going in much more for athletics and outdoor 
games at the present day than they did formerly. The 
value of this has been seen by those who Lave the care 
and training of them in large schools and institutions ; 
and medical men so constantly insist upon the neces- 
sity of it. Muscle-work has been found essential 
where much brain-work is required, and since young 
women began to emulate the accomplishments of the 
mind of man, they have still further found the ad- 
vantage of obtaining some of his muscle also. Let it 
be well understood, therefore, that among women, 
mind and muscle, up to a reasonable extent, will certainly 
help largely to make a good mother. 

One has only to mention the word hysteria in order 
to bring to the reader's interest the importance of a 
great nervous system which presides over all others in 
the human body. Hysteria is a word derived from 
hustera, meaning the womb. It was noticed in times 
long gone by that the symptoms were referable to the 
womb ; hence the name ; certain conditions of this 
organ were often found to be associated with nervous 
manifestations of a peculiar and often very dis- 
tressing nature. The nervous system in hysteria is 
thrown out of gear, and consequently there are 
innumerable and very varied symptoms set up, which, 
though not very serious as disorders go, are very 
difficult to conquer and get rid of. 

Though the nervous system presides over other 
systems, and regulates them, it is itself in turn very 
largely under the influence of the other systems also. 
The muscles and internal organs must be themselves 
in a good and healthy state if the nervous system is 



24 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

to remain sound. So that it will be observed that 
bonies, organs, muscles, and mind have all the closest 
association with one another, and that a good state 
and healthy working order of each and every depart- 
ment is necessary for general bodily fitness. 

Next to actual disease of the brain itself affections 
of the womb are among the readiest disturbers of 
the nervous system. Let the womb be subject to any 
undue disorder, the nerves will telegraph the fact to 
all parts. Any bending or displacement downwards 
is sufficient to influence the very strongest nervous 
system. And disease of the ovaries — the organs which 
lie on each side of the womb, and which play such an 
important part in the process that leads to conception 
— is a very fruitful cause of nervous upset. 

It is not necessary to give the symptoms and treat- 
ment of hysteria : these are matters for the dis- 
criminating medical adviser to consider more particu- 
larly. But the reader should know that this affection 
is one that generally shows some signs of itself before 
marriage, and that it points to very possible trouble 
in the future. 

A sound body is the surest security for a sound 
nervous system — indeed, there are certain nervous 
conditions which may be said to be almost entirely 
dependent on the blood. So that a remedy fit for 
application during young single life naturally suggests 
itself: keep both mind and body in as good condition 
as possible, so that the whole general health may be 
maintained to a proper standard. A good driver, when 
he has a pair of horses to deal with, must pay the 
closest attention to the running of both. He must 
not whip the one onwards and leave out of account 
the other, or rapid and safe progress will not be made. 
Both must proceed neck and neck, evenly, surely, and 



BEFORE MARRIAGE 25 

without halting. So the mind and body of a woman 
must run neck and neck. The full vigor of both will 
be required when the time comes for her to display 
the energies peculiar to her lying-in state. 

An unsteady nervous temperament may possibly 
induce epileptic fits. It is quite certain that any young 
woman afflicted to such an extent should never marry 
at all, for two reasons : first, because she may transmit 
the tendency to her children, and secondly, because 
she may be so affected during child-birth that her life 
and that of her child may very likely be lost. It is true 
that women suffering from epileptic fits marry and are 
sometimes much better for it; but the children born 
are almost certain to inherit nervous diseases, not- 
withstanding. 

Girls who are noticed to be given to undue excite- 
ment, and still more those who belong to nervous 
families, should be placed under special domestic care, 
and if necessary, special treatment, if they are to grow 
strong enough to be sufficiently safe and reliable to 
marry. It is quite astonishing how nerves can be 
subdued and trained down to a proper order; nothing 
being more certainly efficacious than a carefully chosen 
and not too stimulating diet. Of course any condition 
of the womb that may be suspected should be promptly 
placed under the advice of a medical man, the home 
discipline and training being quite a thing apart. 

As regards nervous affections it must be remembered 
that one thing may lead to another, one excitement to 
others ; something may induce hysteria, and hysteria 
may lead to epileptic fits. So that the nervous defects 
of childhood and youth should, if possible, be nipped 
in the bud by treatment, and a method of living and 
general training should be adopted that will be likely 
to counteract them. 



26 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

But now let us be happy in our thoughts and studies. 
Let us think of the sweet rule after so much miserable 
exception ; let us observe the young woman who has 
come from good stock, healthy and happy, fair to look 
upon, a cynosure for so many eyes, but destined to 
be possessed body and soul by one, a lover for life. 
She has been brought up by thoughtful and careful 
parents; she has a mind herself which rises above 
cosmetics and wasp-waists, though critical enough 
when remarking in the mirror and comparing with the 
sculpture of great masters; she is alive to life's great 
possibilities, and can be serious as well as gay. The 
embodiment of all that is beautiful, God's masterpiece, 
she flowers the earth with a fragrance that makes men 
wonder and worship at the thought. She commands 
awe and reverence ; she engenders a desire to do 
obeisance begotten of respectful regard. She inculcates 
a morality through the very dread her admirers have 
of offending her. She is the salt of the earth, beau- 
tifully begetful, having an influence capable of 
breaking a giant's rude endeavor, though possessing a 
charm that can quietly win the mightiest — controlling 
as an angel. She may thus hold a world's destinies in 
the hollow of her hand. 

"Look round the habitable world, how few 
Know their own good, or, knowing it, pursue/' 

— DRYDEN. 



CHAPTER II 

THE MARRIAGE 

There are few hours in a lifetime that are more 
trying to either man or woman than those occupied by 
the innumerable and multifarious little businesses and 
ceremonies that belong to getting married. You may 
draw comparisons as you like ; young men and maidens 
have often to go through the excitement of important 
examinations at schools or universities, and at any time 
of life either sex may have to pass through the very 
trying ordeal of some severe competition, either 
honorary or for some professional or commercial pur- 
pose ; they may become candidates in some election or 
other; all sorts of successes may crown efforts and 
produce exalted states of mind; let us think as we 
may, we shall fail to find anything to equal the ordinary 
wedding for producing the supremest anxiety and ten- 
sion of expectation, the greatest absorption of antici- 
pation, the highest delights of conquest and accom- 
plishment, the most beautiful panoramas of promise 
in the minds of the couple concerned. 

Of course I refer to the picturesque occasion of the 
sacred and solemn marriage ceremony that has its 
chief scene in a place of worship, where, in addition 
to opportunities that appropriate and large enough 
surroundings give for the presence of a number of 
friends, may be found that atmosphere which renders 
the occasion one so impressive; where sounds of the 

27 



28 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

organ and intonations of serious service all help to 
make the occurrence one which shall be remembered — 
an event of a lifetime. 

There is something very beautiful in a wedding. 
Joyous as it may seem on the one hand, it is appro- 
priately tempered by the profoundest gravity on the 
other. Pretty to the very last bit of ribbon are lall the 
fair sex attending; smart to the finger-tips the men; 
best-dressed, more than at any other time, a marriage 
party is at once the picture of health, beauty, joy, 
success, hope, aspiration, solemnity, orderliness and 
goodness. There is only one thing that could create 
rapid alternations of great joy and tears, brightness 
and deep concern, happy expectation and bewildering 
imagery, and that is the solemnization before the altar 
of that bond which no man shall put asunder. 

The all-absorbing circumstances of the event render 
it one that produces perhaps the highest pitch of 
excitement and emotion intermingled that it is possible 
for anyone to experience. 

But it is with influences and effects that we must 
concern ourselves chiefly in this chapter. One must 
not forget that marriages are prepared for and thought 
over for a long time before the event ; they are rarely 
dreamed of at night and realized next morning. I have 
myself observed candidates for matrimony get quite 
thin many months before the event was to take place, 
simply through a prolonged anxiety and a worried 
looking forward. It seems a pity that such an eflfect 
should be produced in view of what should be one of 
the happiest of all consummations, but there would 
hardly seem to be any help for it in many instances. 
The purchase and arrangement of a trousseau, the 
looking around for a house, the furnishing, the ser- 
vants, and so on, all these things require thought and 



THE MARRIAGE 29 

care; but they very often lead to a somewhat dejected 
appearance on the wedding-day — this is the point I 
have to urge at this stage. Young women would do 
well to display less feverish haste and racking anxiety 
before their marriage, if they wish to show themselves 
to the best advantage and keep a firm frame of mind 
throughout. Thus, I need hardly add, I am not an 
advocate for long engagements. 

I have known even men trouble a great deal before 
marriage. Nay, the records of our coroners' courts 
show many cases of candidates for matrimony of both 
sexes committing suicide just before the event, so 
worn and harassed and unhinged in mind have they 
become. And there have been instances, not a few, 
of either one or the other running away when the 
time for the ceremony neared. 

To turn to the brighter side, however, the rule is 
that thoughts of a prospective marriage stimulate both 
mind and body to all their healthiest actions. Though 
the ceremony itself may at length be gone through 
without any scene of fainting or hysterics, it must on 
all occasions be pretty severe, at any rate for a young 
woman; yet, after all, it is *'soon over," and anon the 
train is whisking the happy pair — let us hope, to 
realms of unhindered bliss. 

I wish to issue the warning, therefore, regarding the 
marriage ceremony and the little time before it, that, 
amidst the thousand and one things to be thought 
about, some consideration should alwa3^s be given to 
general health. A girl should take the greatest pride 
in being in as perfect health as is possible, and should 
not devote her sole attention to the number of skirts 
or evening dresses she shall include in the list of 
requisites. Good health is the best of all wedding 
preparations, without a doubt. It is even the prettiest. 



30 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

It will bring greater comfort in the future, and more 
lasting appreciation than miles of costly lace. Two 
healthy and happy heads on a fifty cent pillow will be 
more comfortable and content than aching ones on the 
costliest silk covering. Happy the maidens who make 
a pleasure of preparation, and who do not worry ; wise 
are they who do not rush and stumble getting ready, 
who bend the head at the altar with a quiet sense of 
solemnity, but who cheerfully reach their carriage, 
brides twice-blessed, wreathed in the sweetest of 
smiles, impressed but not requiring smellmg-bottles, 
concerned but not quite upset. 

"All who joy would win 
Must share it, — Happiness was born a twin/' 

— HYRON. 



CHAPTER III 

THE HONEYMOON 

I have often wondered whether it is better to spend 
the first few days of married life in a hotel, where all 
faces are strange and all comers unaccustomed, or to 
walk from church straight to the simple little home, as 
the newly-married of the poorer classes do. There is 
a great deal to be said on both sides, and much depends 
on class and temperament. 

Many who marry have scarcely ever before slept a 
night in a hotel, and one can well imagine that every- 
thing so very new and strange can hardly contribute 
to the very highest contentment and comfort, es- 
pecially in the case of nervous young women. All 
"that sort of thing'' wears off, some readers will no 
doubt argue. But the truth is, that it does not always 
wear off. The seeds of many an unhappy married life 
are first sown during the honeymoon. I have known 
of instances in which a honeymoon quarrel has never 
been recovered from — which might not have occurred 
but for the worry of the occasion. It would seem 
that a honeymoon — at any rate the first part of it — 
spent at a quiet country residence, is the most desirable 
one. 

The custom of taking long tours sight-seeing hardly 
seems to be the very best at first. Often a route is 
arranged with one day here and another there, so that 
in haste and confusion most interests run the risk of 

31 



32 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

becoming irksome before many days are over. One 
can only have pity for a young woman — for a man- it 
does not matter so much — who has gone through 
months of anxious preparation, then through the wed- 
ding-day and a long, tiresome journey afterwards, 
being rushed off amid trunks and parcels, to be landed 
on the steps of some strange hotel, the very porter of 
which, seeing at once that the arrivals are newly mar- 
ried, passes on the information to everyone in the place 
(glad, and expecting higher tips of course) until every- 
one stares ; and so they do the next day, and the next. 
All this can hardly be pleasant. 

No ; a quiet, more homely honeymoon would seem 
to be better for most couples, and a return very soon 
to their own home ; not that traveling and sight-seeing 
should be altogether dispensed with, far from it, but 
that these pleasures should preferably be enjoyed on 
another occasion in the near future, when both are in 
a more settled frame of mind, and when outside 
curiosit}^ is not so readily excited. 

The poor enjoy their honeymoon too — a different 
kind. It will often be spun out to many weeks without 
much abstaining from work on the part of either. A 
day oif here and there, and evenings out, constitute 
this homeopathic honeymoon. And I am not so sure 
that this system does not provide the quietest, easiest, 
and most enjoyable time of all, taking into account 
differences of class and giving every allowance of pro- 
portion. The daily toiler returns with renewed 
warmth to his love after a day's work, and his wife 
is all the better for waiting for him. 

Separation is the best cure of all for quarrels, just as 
a holiday is best for worry. Not that couples on a 
honeymoon always quarrel, but they very often get 
so much of one another as satisfies very soon. Still, 



THE HONEYMOON 33 

history records even mortal quarrels. Disappointment 
when Avigs and false teeth have been removed has 
frequently led to differences of opinion, for instance. 
Intimate revelations of various kinds may lead to 
misgivings and angry argument. More than one young 
husband has committed suicide after discovering cer- 
tain anatomical deficiencies — as they have so con- 
sidered — which have led them to doubt the veracity of 
their wives. Sometimes the husband has been right, 
and sometimes not. 

A working man and his wife will probably derive a 
greater amount of happiness — even though the man 
have never left oflf work more than one day, the day of 
his marriage — during his honeymoon spun out to 
many months, with hardly a real ending, than some 
first-class clerk, who has saved up money enough just 
for one week, which he has spent rushing around to 
catch trains and boats, hurrying his poor tired wife 
around as though they w^ould never have another 
chance again in their lives. And the working-class 
couple will obtain quiet and comfortable contrasts and 
pleasures over a long period, which those of a better 
class would scarcely have the power to obtain^ to a 
corresponding degree, under different circumstances 
and conditions. Happiness on a honeymoon will 
depend upon so many factors. 

"Could we forbear dispute, and practice love, 
We should agree as angels do above." 

—WALLER. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE WIFE'S CARE OF HEALTH 

The present writer is so often urging everyone, no 
matter what sex and age, to attend to their general 
health, by observing a few common-sense principles, 
that it would seem almost absurd to specially advise 
wives who may any day conceive and bear a child to 
keep themselves up to a satisfactory standard. Yet, in 
spite of the fact that such instructions are laid down in 
the many books published, giving the secret of good 
health and long life to everyone alike, there are still 
some very particular reasons to be given in this present 
book why mothers and wives particularly should main- 
tain as healthy a condition as possible. 

The kind of life that a good many wives lead is far 
from healthy ; not being bread-winners, and not being 
obliged to .go away from home as much as men, they 
are often given to remaining too much in close and 
stuflfy atmospheres. It is true that household duties 
take up a great deal of their time, and that there is very 
little to go out for, but if women would but see the 
necessity of taking a certain amount of fresh air and 
exercise they would, as a consequence, find that house- 
hold duties were not so irksome and not so heavy. 
But women living in quiet suburbs, country towns or 
villages, however, so often complain that there is no 

34 



THE WIFE'S CARE OF HEALTH 35 

object in simply going out for a walk. Such plain 
outings may be rather hard to repeat, it is true. 
Streets of small towns, and paths of the country round 
about, soon lose their attractiveness, and one often 
hears women remark : 'T don't care to go out ; there is 
nothing to go for — the same old paths and fields : one 
gets sick of them." Therefore the custom of visiting 
friends and of taking afternoon tea is, after all, a good 
one, as it draws out of their stuffy rooms, into the 
open air, many women who would otherwise be con- 
tent to go on with their needlework: it gives a walk 
with an object. 

Cycling provides one of the best means of obtaining 
healthy recreation in fine weather. It is an easy 
amusement, and gets one quickly away from domestic 
worries to new scenes. It is suitable to all ages and 
nearly all mental and physical conditions, in modera- 
tion. Horse-riding, driving, or motoring afford 
pleasant diversion for those who can afford such, while 
golf, tennis, or croquet may be preferred in many 
instances. 

It is necessary, however, to give some warning as 
regards the amount of exercise that should be taken. 
Take cycling, for instance ; at first women take to it far 
too energetically as a rule. They are so delighted to 
have something pleasant to indulge in, which also 
needs a certain amount of skill, and they perceive w^hat 
was beforehand understood by them to be a little 
difficult to learn to be really so ridiculously easy, that 
they are very apt to attempt too much on the first few 
occasions. One lady is remembered who managed to 
go by herself after a few trials, and being of a rather 
excitable and energetic turn of mind, she felt more 
power as she gained her balance; getting right away 
from her teacher, she shouted out : "I can go perfect- 



36 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ly well now, I will go round and meet you at the end 
of such-and-such street." She soon turned into a road 
which dipped down pretty sharply into a hill, marked, 
''This hill is dangerous,'' before he could get near 
enough to warn her of the situation. Far from per- 
ceiving danger, however, she thought how jolly and 
easy ! Down she went, gaining speed at every yard, 
until she suddenly came to the conclusion that the 
machine was running away with her. Therefore 
sooner than be carried down to a swift and sure death, 
she jumped off and broke her ankle. She might have 
done worse. This is the way a good many deaths have 
been caused. 

An especially favorite mistake to make is this: 
Once having learned, some are known to settle upon a 
certain day for a long ride, anxious to do what their 
friends do. They have supposed that the distance was 
"nothing," after seeing how easy cycling is, and have 
gone many miles further than they ought. The con- 
sequence has been that they have had to go to bed 
for a few days, having returned home quite exhausted 
— perhaps a wind faced them all the way back. Stiff 
and sore, they have overdone it. 

All women should remember that cycling is not 
learned when pedalling and mounting is mastered, nor 
when they can go well by themselves ; it is only safely 
enjoyed after several weeks spent on all kinds of roads 
and hills have provided plentiful experience, and when 
putting on the brake and ringing the bell can be 
performed naturally and almost instinctively. 

There are various ways of obtaining fresh air and 
exercise, and of keeping the general health in good 
order; but space will not permit any further reference 
to more. Cycling is mentioned specially because it is 
so excellent and practicable, and it is within the reach 



THE WIFE'S CARE OF HEALTH n 

of so many; such a very simple and well-known 
diversion would not have been referred to at all but 
for the fact that so many ailing patients tell their 
doctors that they have no inclination to seek healthy 
amusement or exercise. Multitudes of such have 
found cycling, driving, croquet, or such-like simple 
pursuits positively life-saving. 

The general health of a wife had need be better than 
anyone's else, because of the functions she is likely to 
perform as a mother. She will be heavy-laden before 
long — if fortunate enough — and then her best and 
heartiest strength will be required. A cheerful sub- 
mission to her inequable lot will be shown by a woman 
during her pregnant months if she be thoroughly well 
in health beforehand, while her husband also will be 
able to smile contentedly. She will reach the time of 
her delivery with a good heart, feeling confident that 
she will go through all satisfactorily. Her good spirits 
will enable her to bear up under the circumstances, so 
that everything will pass off as well as could be hoped 
for. The child she gives birth to has also been 
influenced for the better before being born ; it has 
grown to a good size under the active and vigorous 
health of its mother; and, after delivery, under the 
abundant supply of its mother's milk, it will fatten, 
thrive, sleep, and cause very little trouble. 

On the contrary a sickly state of health will mean 
many groans and complaints when motherhood is 
promised. And, on account of the further burden, 
an ailing wife will be more inclined than ever to mope 
and remain inactive, adding to her complaints, and 
nursing her general misery by remaining indoors and 
brooding over her afflictions. The husband returns in 
the evening bright and hopeful, only to settle down 
into a sad and wretched mood. He sees and hears 



38 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

much, but feels he can do nothing. ''Call in the 
doctor, and all that expense;" that is the only thing 
to be done ; month after month this goes on, before 
the confinement takes place. The poor wife has had 
little strength and less spirits to carry her through it 
all, while chloroform and instruments will have to be 
resorted to. After all, what a miserable business ; and 
how badly she has got over the confinement ! How 
slowly! Moreover, she never seems really well for 
months afterwards, perhaps. And the child that is 
born, a poor, undersized little thing just manages to 
live on, under artificial feeding, only to cause endless 
trouble, disturbed nights, and screaming days ; for the 
mother has developed no milk of her own, the best 
food for it. 

Therefore it is not on account of the mother's own 
comfort and happiness, and not on account of her 
husband's either, that good health should be sought 
after most diligently by the wife as soon as the honey- 
moon is over and the house is warmed ; it is on account 
of future children. Every earlier defect of body and 
mind will almost surely be followed by other disorders 
during the married stages of life. You cannot gather 
figs of thistles, and the wedded cannot beget lusty 
progeny when gloomy forebodings, misery^ and sick- 
ness have worked their irreparable mischief. 

A young woman who has taken an interest in her 
health while single will be likely to keep up this in- 
terest when she is married ; she will take a pride in her 
self-preservation — she may even be able to give her 
husband some good rules to follow as well ! And 
when the time of her attendance on oflFspring arrives, 
she will bestow the same sensible care on her children ; 
she will bring them up to think out principles for them- 



THE WIFE^S CARE OF HEALTH 39 

selves, encouraging them by example to make the best 
specimens of humanity. 

Of all things that make for good health under all 
circumstances, and therefore fit and proper for the 
wife to study, happiness is the chief regulator^ for this 
state helps good digestion, which itself assures a com- 
fortable frame of mind and a smiling face, to say 
nothing of an admirable complexion. But if happiness 
helps good health, so does sound digestion permit hap- 
piness ; you cannot have one without its exercising an 
influence upon the other. 

Happiness is helped by health ; it is attained by 
judicious feeding and exhilarating employment, in a 
constitution that begins by being normal. Good 
digestion is enjoyed by those who are careful what 
they eat and how they eat it — provided the body is 
capable of digesting, at least, easily-digested material. 
The converse of happiness is the most powerful pro- 
vocative of indigestion, as need hardly be said. It is 
well for the reader to grasp these theories, for she may 
imagine that suet pudding is not good for her because 
it is heavy, while the truth probably is, that her hus- 
band digests it comfortably because he is happy and 
contented all the time. 

What is happiness? It is the result of a finely- 
regulated balance maintained amongst duties and 
diversions ; it is the effect produced by accomplishing 
something that pleases ; it is the pleasurable sensation 
derived from distinguishing entertaining contrasts. 
The performance of simple duty is one of the com- 
monest gratifications one could think of. If happiness 
is wanting, the health should immediately be made a 
study of; if health be defective, then one of the most 
powerful remedial agents is some means of entertain- 
ing and pleasing the mind. Depress the mind of the 



40 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

sick, and you administer an indirect poison. Brighten 
their despondency, and you immediately give them a 
more cheerful appetite. 

The food of a wife should be simple and not too 
stimulating — and by stimulating food I mean chiefly 
flesh-food. Too much butcher's meat will produce an 
over-richness of blood, which will bring about various 
distressing symptoms and produce a favorable soil for 
many diseases. The secret of good complexion is 
careful dietary. Perfect health will be attained by 
those who feed wisely, who maintain a happy and con- 
tented disposition, provided they begin by being nor- 
mally developed. A wife should study varieties of 
vegetable arid cereal and fruit foods, leaving a little 
butcher's meat to be discussed occasionally, as of less 
account. 

"It is worry that kills," is a common saying that has 
much truth attached to it. This is the same theory as 
that expressed in the above paragraphs, conversely, 
for v/orry is the antithesis of happiness. Worry 
causes indigestion, which leads to malnutrition, and 
to a poisoning of the system with products that have 
no right to accumulate. 

Too much animal food causes irritability of temper, 
sleeplessness, bad complexion, rheumatism, and a 
hundred other disorders of a direct or indirect nature. 
Most nervous diseases are either caused or aggravated 
by too stimulating diet. I have only to remind the 
reader that nervousness will cause worry, to indicate 
that food is a powerful factor, regulating the condition 
of the body, no matter which way we look at several 
simple facts. 

The wife may not care to trouble much about such 
matters as food, but when I tell her that barrenness is 
frequently caused by nervousness and a too-stimulated 



THE WIFE'S CARE OF HEALTH 41 

constitution, she will perhaps find better reason for 
thinking twice. 

It should be well appreciated that slow and small 
feeding may afford more nourishment to a body than 
quantities swallowed in large mouthfuls. Big meals 
do not do all the good they are often supposed to do. 

As to drink, the simpler it is in nature the better. It 
is very safe to begin with water and cautiously proceed 
through milk and the simpler beverages. A wife 
should need little of a stimulating order in drinking as 
in eating. Above all, if she be advised that some stimu- 
lant is likely to help her in a disordered state of the 
system, she had better view this as a medicine to be 
discontinued as soon as normality makes it possible, 
and remember that the absolutely healthy will easier 
remain so by abstaining from both too-stimulating 
drink and food. 

Yet, alcoholic stimulants are valuable medicines, do 
not mistake me. They are not to be equalled by any 
other drugs in such conditions as the medical man 
orders them. But they should always be viewed as 
adjuvants, which only deficiency and disorder indicate 
as suitable. Anyone requiring stimulating drink is in 
some degree below the line of good health, and this 
is simply demonstrated by so many of sound health 
remaining sound without requiring stimulants. 

Now that women know so well that excessive drink- 
ing of alcoholic stimulants is a habit that is easily 
acquired and not easily broken, it behooves them to 
understand once for all — and constitute themselves the 
instructors of all posterity — that alcohol is a valuable 
medicine, and to be used carefully as such; therefore 
one that is, like so many other medicines, dangerous 
when taken to excess. Women are much more likely 
to become enslaved to its fatal luring than men. There 



42 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

is less hope for reformation in a woman-drunkard than 
in a man. 

Much gaiety and high life — card-playing to late 
hours and dancing through programmes — flushing ex- 
citements and exhaustion, are of course unhealthy; 
and it is absurd to write such warnings down in this 
year of grace. Some strength of character and self- 
denial is what should be displayed ; an aiming at mod- 
eration in all things should be the life of all who boast 
a brain higher than that of animals. 

Riches should be used to help the ignorant and poor, 
and not squandered in lives of luxury and debauchery. 
Three out of five of all women above the artisan class 
spend an immense amount of their time in striving *'to 
get into society" of some sort. Their joy or despair is 
engendered by either success of failure to receive the 
favorable countenan<:e of someone in a better position 
than themselves. The happiest are those who *'hang 
society !'' as far as cultivating this or that silly set 
goes, and who move through all ranks extracting pleas- 
ures out of helping others. So many derive pleasure 
from trying to pull somebody down rather than from 
endeavoring to help certain ones up. Hen<:e the lives 
of many wives consist of about nine parts of discon- 
tentment and worry to three parts of wholesome 
gratification. 

All people should make themselves busy doing some 
good. Idleness for the wife is unhealthy, even if it is 
not too reprehensible for words ; it cannot get one any- 
where near happiness. Enmii leads to drug-taking, if 
alcoholic stimulants have been forbidden. Interesting 
occupation is the antidote to inclination for listless- 
ness. Keep a girl in a lonely farmhouse, and she may 
turn anaemic and lethargic ; show her a nice-looking 
young man, and she will spring forth gaily with rosy 



THE WIFE'S CARE OF HEALTH 43 

cheeks *'to meet the sun upon the upland dawn'' — only 
to think of him ! 

Every wife should read over some simple reliable 
book on the acquirement and maintenance of health. 
She will then learn from the best of them that her 
house should be well ventilated at all times, that fire- 
places are good ventilating shafts, and that the regis- 
ters should therefore be rarely closed down. She will 
appreciate the commonplace that bedrooms should 
never be stuflfy if good sleep is desired. 

I will now instruct my fair reader in what she will 
not easily find in any book — that the troublesome, 
slight ailments of spring and autumn are largely 
caused by defective ventilation of houses, for, in the 
spring, fires are discontinued, which have during the 
winter drawn currents of fresh air through the room, 
such currents having found their entrance at tiny and 
many window and door openings, while it has not been 
so warm that the windows might be opened. In the 
autumn the same, it becomes too cold to have the 
windows open, and it is perhaps too early to begin 
fires. 

The old books have referred to bathing and washing 
as being healthy, and I need not enlarge upon this 
subject. 

Constipation is a common affection, of all women. 
I propose to make extremely short reference to it in 
this capacity. I will merely observe that drugs are to 
be avoided if possible. Most cases will yield to diet 
treatment and a certain amount of exercise. Diet 
will effect a cure in most instances even if exercise 
cannot he taken. The class of diet suggested above will 
meet many cases — vegetable, cereal, and fruit foods 
should be studied rather than such stimulating foods as 
butcher's meat. But when diet treatment is adopted 



44 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

due attention should be paid to the powers of digestion, 
for where constipation is indigestion of some degree 
may also be present. All cases of constipation should 
be scientifically dieted as a first treatment. 

"Let woman be strong, and lovely in her strength." 

—BYRON. 



CHAPTER V. 

PREGNANCY— ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 

Every woman should know just a little about her 
structure. This book would be poorly educative if an 
attempt were not made to describe the lower abdomen 
— lower body or ''stomach/' as many women erron- 
eously term it — in as short and easily understandable 
a manner as possible. 

This region of the anatomy consists of bones which 
have a covering of muscles externally and to some 
extent internally; these bones form a cavity, which 
is called the cavity of the pelvis, the bones being called 
the pelvic bones. The latter are joined together, and 
on either side they are spread out upwards and out- 
wards constituting the large hip-bones, so well felt 
when a person is thin ; together with the lowest part 
of the spinal column, the sacrum, they form a two- 
storied kind of basin with the bottom out. Both of 
these stories are very closely concerned with the func- 
tion of giving birth, and that is why the reader's close 
attention is drawn to them. Indeed, it may be more 
exactly explained that the upper story, much larger 
on account of the spread-out hip-bones, will lodge the 
growing foetus of a woman who is pregnant. The liv- 
ing and growing contents that are to form her child 
are for many months concealed here and kept from 
harm, while the lower story of this basin of bone will 

45 



46 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ultimately, when the time comes for delivery, become 
the passage through which the child will pass head 
first. Therefore it will be easily seen why this re- 
ceptacle has no rigid and unyielding bottom to it. It 
has a bottom or floor of muscle, however, termed by 
doctors the floor of the pelvis, which will presently be 
explained more fully. 

Now the reader will be able to understand why some 
confinements are tedious. If the bones mentioned 
above are deformed, and will not allow the child to 
pass through the outlet they form, head-first and nat- 
urally, then there will be trouble. In a well-formed 
woman the bones are most accurately and beautifully 
fashioned, and arranged so that the head of the child 
may be permitted to pass properly through the outlet ; 
they do not make a smooth, round, funnel-shaped 
passage exactly, as might be imagined ; in reality the 
shape is very irregular, to agree to some extent with 
the shape of the child's head, and with the turns that 
this head must make in order that it may emerge to the 
exterior with the least trouble to both mother and 
child. 

Sometimes these same bones are ^'flattened," not 
forming an opening suitable for the passage of the 
child, and instruments have to be used at the birth 
in order to help the head past the narrowness thus 
created. And it has even been found necessary to 
cut the joining of the bones in front — as one might 
snip through a ring at its narrowest part in order to 
get it oflf a swelled finger — so that the child's head 
shall pass. When the opening is so narrow that the 
child cannot be born through it, then the front of the 
body must be cut open, and the child taken out that 
way, an operation which the reader has probably heard 
of under the name of Caesarean section. But this ex- 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 47 

tremity is extremely rare, and the mere mention of it 
may be interesting, but need create no undue alarm. 

It may interest wives to know that deformity of the 
pelvic bones is .caused chiefly through a woman having 
had rickets when a child. We have seen that bowed 
legs, and other bone manifestations of rickets, very 
stron-gly suggest malformation of the more hidden 
pelvic bones. Therefore any woman having bowed 
legs had better inform her doctor of the fact if she is 
interviewing him for the purpose of engaging him to 
attend in her confinement. 

These points concerning anatomy are given in order 
that women may have some idea why their confine- 
ments may in some instances be tedious or dangerous. 
And why should not women- know these things ? They 
will feel all the more contented and satisfied if they 
are quite confident that they are formed properly ; and 
they will be more patient under any tediousness or dif- 
ficulty. Moreover, they will understand the doctor and 
his ways all the better. In fact, total ignorance of all 
such matters as are dealt with in this book ought not 
to be heard of in these days of high intelligence and 
increasing culture on the part of women. 

There is little to fear in the function of child-birth 
if a woman be healthy and made properly, and, as 
such women are in the very great majority, it is well 
that they should have some means of investigating and 
knowing about themselves, for their own comfort and 
satisfaction. It is no doubt unpleasant for the de- 
formed minority to be plainly told about it, to find out 
that they are what they are, that certain conditions 
seen denote others that are not seen. Some critics 
would doubtless argue that the less the gentler sex 
knows, the better, and that some books are a danger 
because they only create fear and dread; everything 



48 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

has its disadvantage in the eyes of some ; but nothing 
will persuade the present writer that a fair knowledge 
concerning their own anatomy and their highest func- 
tion will not be distinctly advantageous to women in 
general. 

Continuing our study of the anatomy, therefore, it 
must be observed that the pelvic outlet, through which 
the child should pass, has a floor largely of muscle. It 
should now be appreciated how marvellously Nature 
has fashioned humanity. There are bones to give 
framework and stren.gth ; there are muscles and liga- 
ments to clothe these bones, to provide expulsive force, 
to retain the bones in proper position, and to fill up 
the openings so that a complete and firm cavity may 
exist for the long tenancy of the growing foetus ; and 
when the time comes, the whole arrangement is such 
that the contents may be driven- out by muscular force, 
right through the boney outlet, and through the mus- 
cular floor of the pelvis — all closing up afterwards as 
though nothmg had happened. 

Now the reader is better prepared to gain a simple 
understanding as to what a womb is, and where it is 
situated. A womb is a little body, pear-shaped, and 
even about the size of an ordinary small pear, and it is 
more or less hollow. Its walls are not thin, but thick, 
leaving a comparatively small cavity inside. At its 
smaller end is an opening, the mouth of the womb, and 
this leads by a short and narrow passsage — the neck of 
the womb — to the interior of the organ. The womb is 
placed large end uppermost within the pelvic cavity or 
basin just described, just as one might suspend a pear 
in the middle of a pudding basin which has a bottom 
made of something soft. And the mouth at its narrow 
end is directed downwards, into the vagina, which is 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 49 

the passage leading from the outside private parts, 
and which is concerned with sexual intercourse. 

Just inside the external private parts, reversing the 
description, is a kind of collapsed tube, which leads 
straight to the opening into the womb. But in addi- 
tion to the womb there are either side of its larger end 
the ovaries, retained by ligaments which are spread 
out like small wings, while the interior of these ovar- 
ies communicates with the interior of the womb by- 
means of very small tubes. 

Still, further, it should be known that during sexual 
union the spermatozoa, or germs of the male, are 
deposited within the vagina, towards its end, near the 
mouth of the womb ; they then find their way within, 
and commence to hunt for an ovum. So energetic 
are they that they will soon find out the tubes com- 
municating with the ovaries. Having found and united 
with the ovum, conception thus takes place, and the 
growth of the embryo proceeds forthwith and rapidly. 
From the fertilization of the ovum to delivery at full 
term somewhere about two hundred and eighty days 
are required, or nine calendar months. 

The development of the foetus in the womb is per- 
haps one of the most interesting and remarkable pro- 
cesses known to scientists ; how this mere speck, only 
one one hundred and twentieth of an inch in size, 
formed by the union of male and female elements, ulti- 
mately becomes a screaming baby — in only nine 
months — is one of those mysteries of Nature that 
make one realize how marvellous are the works of 
the Almighty ; like the growing of a plant from a seed, 
the process goes on apace, as the slow performance of 
a miracle ; we know not how, beyond what microscopes 
can teach us — but still we know a great deal. We can 
watch the enlargement and development of the embryo 



50 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

by taking specimens from animals which have died at 
different stages, and we can also study the changes 
that take place when the eggs of birds are fertilized. 

The size of the fertilized human ovum at the second 
week is about a quarter of an inch. This contains the 
embryo, now so small as to be scarcely visible to the 
untrained eye. At the fourth week the ovum is about 
three-quarters of an inch in size, and the embryo within 
a quarter of an inch. Until the sixth week the develop- 
ing offspring within the ovum is called the embryo 
but after this it is called the foetus, then showing 
signs of being human. About the fifth week the limbs 
begin to give evidence of shape and character. 

At the beginning of the third month the ovum is 
about the size of a hen's tgg, while the foetus is one 
to one and a quarter inches. During these stages the 
head is seen to be very large in proportion to the body. 
At the end of the third month the foetus is about three 
inches long and the ovum four inches. The placenta, 
or afterbirth — about which we shall learn more later 
on — which constitutes the connecting attachment be- 
tween foetus and mother, is now distinctly formed, and 
the cord which unites the foetus with the afterbirth 
lengthens and becomes somewhat spiral. At the end 
of the fourth month the sex can be made out. A foetus 
born at the end of the sixth month may possibly 
breathe at first, but will surely die in a few hours. One 
born at seven and a half months may live, if great 
care is taken with it, especially if it be reared at first 
in an incubator, so that a proper temperature may be 
kept up for a time. 

At full term the length of the child is about twenty 
inches, and its weight somewhere near seven pounds. 
Children weighing much less than five pounds have 
been known to live however; while on the other hand, 



ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 51 

some newly-born babes have even been known to turn 
the scale at eighteen pounds. 

A point worth noting is the manner in which the 
foetus depends for its sustenance upon the mother. 
The circulation of the blood of both mother and foetus 
is in such association, by means of the placenta, or 
afterbirth, that, without actual communication taking 
place, there is an interchange of nutritive and excre- 
tory material. The afterbirth is about the size of the 
two hands put together side by side, a jelly-fish shaped 
fleshy mass. It is through this afterbirth that the 
foetus is fed, and when born the afterbirth comes 
away also, or rather very soon afterwards, there being 
no further use for it in the womb. How often mothers 
have wondered what an afterbirth is, and what it is 
there for! 

As the womb increases in size it raises itself up out 
of the pelvic cavity, for at length there is not room for 
it there. Its contents are getting larger and larger, it 
soon projects forward against the firm but slightly 
yielding body of the mother in front, while the rigid 
bones and muscles of the back will not allow it to 
make any distinct encroachment there. Very often the 
enlarged womb is not quite in the middle; in such 
a case there need be no anxiety; but if its shape is 
such that very much more seems to be situated on one 
side than the other, or if it does not seem to be of a 
fairly regular oval shape, but uneven and one-sided, 
then the position of the child is very likely wrong, and 
trouble may be expected at the confinement if the posi- 
tion be not altered previously by the doctor. 

Let us closely follow the womb's enlargement again. 
At the end of the first three months, it is still a pelvic 
organ, and has not risen high enough to be easily felt 
by the wife herself. At about the fourth month, 



52 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

however, it rises to touch the front of the body over 
the bone of the pubis, and may be felt quite readily. 
At the end of the fifth month, it reaches the navel. At 
the seventh, it is half-w^ay betv^een the navel and the 
low^ front chest-ribs. At the beginning of the ninth, it 
is close to the edge of the ribs. And during the last 
two weeks it sinks down just a little. From these in- 
dications a woman may know, approximately how far 
she has advanced in pregnancy. 

From the very first the embyro is doubled or curled 
up, to occupy the least space, its head directed to- 
wards its knees. As it enlarges it may be observed to 
be arranged in as compact a manner as possible. 
Limbs are bent upon themselves, the legs being drawn 
up, and the head is bent forward, so that the whole 
mass comes to be as near egg-shaped as is possible 
to be. The head end of the curled-up embryo should 
be directed downwards, to be normal, for it is the best 
part to come into the world first, and the folded legs 
upwards. The head descending, being comparatively 
firm, yet capable of yielding to some extent at any 
particular spot, will force a smooth passage for itself, 
making a way for the body afterwards in a manner 
that no other portion of the body could accomplish so 
well : it is capable of exerting a gradual pressure and 
expansive force on the passages, acting like a very 
blunt and rounded cone, opening out a road for itself. 
The diflference is at once perceived when, in labor, any 
other part of the body should happen to present first ; 
much greater difficulty in the process of dilating is 
met with, and so much more time is required for the 
birth to take place. 

"We are fearfully and wonderfully made." 

—DAVID. 



CHAPTER VI 

SOME OBVIOUS CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN A 
WOMAN DURING PREGNANCY 

A certain amount of swelling will be experienced 
in the external ''private parts'' of generation during 
pregnancy, and generally an increase of mucous dis- 
charge. But the most important changes depend 
partly upon whether the pregnancy is the first or not. 
In the case of a first pregnancy the walls of the abdo- 
men will be much firmer and tighter, not yielding so 
readily as they will on subsequent occasions. And this 
firmness and rigidity will make itself known, more- 
over, by the eflfect that the enlarging womb will have 
on internal organs. So great an increase in size will 
have to find accommodation somewhere, and uncom- 
fortable pressures on all sides are therefore almost 
bound to take place. 

It is only reasonable to suppose that a hard, unyield- 
ing abdomen, likely to be found in one who is young, 
and who has never before been pregnant, will tend to 
force backwards a heavy womb, thus causing extra 
pressures on parts downwards and backwards. There- 
fore discomforts of all kinds are more manifest during 
a first pregnancy, and this is solely due to the unyield- 
ing disposition of all parts ; but one must not over- 
look the fact, also, that sensations felt for the first time 
are often felt more severely, simply because it is the 

53 



54 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

first, and it is quite likely that the same amount of 
pressure on subsequent occasions would not be no- 
ticed so much. It would be impossible to measure the 
amount of pain and distress felt on different occasions, 
as so many things regulate individual perceptions ; a 
woman who is not enjoying such good all-round physi- 
cal health will be likely to suffer more general distress 
from all the pressures of her pregnancy than one who 
is hearty and robust, for instance. 

Asking the reader's attention to some of the pressure 
effects of pregnancy, it is important to observe that the 
water bladder is pressed upon at certain periods, and the 
desire for passing water is consequently rendered more 
frequent. This is especially noticed during the first 
three months, because the womb is gradually enlarging 
and pressing on top of the bladder during this time. 
After the third month this distress is not perceived so 
much, because the womb enlarges, and now rises to 
rest slightly forward on the front of the body. Very 
little can be done for this frequency of passing water, 
excepting waiting. Sufferers are, however, advised to 
take a good deal of rest in the recumbent posture if the 
distress is very great and the frequency inconvenient. 

The pressure on the bladder noticed during the 
earlier months of pregnancy, and going away again 
almost entirely later on, is perceived again during the 
last week or two, when the womb sinks down a little. 
But throughout the whole of pregnancy the water of a 
woman is increased slightly in amount on account of 
the pressure that occurs on the blood-vessels through- 
out the body. 

Very often the feet and legs will swell on account of 
pressure on the veins, if a woman be not strong; or 
if she have had any tendency to varicose veins before 
the state of pregnancy, she will be extremely liable to 



CHANGES DURING PREGNANCY 55 

them while pregnancy exists, and she may find it 
necessary to lie down a great deal in order to relieve 
the pain of them. If they should get very bad, it may 
be advisable to wear elastic stockings to support the 
swollen veins until the confinement is over. Too early 
support, however, and stockings for only a trifling 
amount are not recommended, for a certain degree of 
extra strain ought to be borne, while recovery will be 
all the more rapid and complete afterwards if natural 
resiliency and recuperation is permitted to bestow its 
influence. The legs will only be weakened by too 
early support. Rest on the back at intervals will take 
away a good deal of the pressure downwards and will 
relieve the full veins to some extent. 

The same pressure upon the vessels will also some- 
times cause varicose veins of the private parts, which 
are relieved in the same manner, and at the same time, 
that the veins of the legs are, by recumbent rest. 

During the pregnancy the navel, instead of remain- 
ing a depression, will first come forward, flush with 
the surface of the body, afterwards even developing 
into a distinct prominence. The weight and pressure 
of the heavy womb will distend the walls of the abdo- 
men so much that, on rare occasions, the large flat 
muscles which form these walls will give way, never 
to unite again. Women who encounter this misfortune 
will generally be found to be suffering from loss of 
tone, or some form of ill-health which has rendered 
their whole muscular system weak. 

In all cases, during the later months of pregnancy 
especially, the skin will crack in its deeper layers, 
leaving the actual surface, however entire; and red 
marks will show the lines of rupture very distinctly. 
When a confinement is over, these cracks heal up, and 
the whole abdomen contracts to resume its former 



56 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

shape as nearly as possible, but never quite com- 
pletely. The red lines of the skin-cracks will then 
begin to turn white. These lines are extremely useful 
to doctors very often, for they indicate that a woman 
must have been pregnant at one time ; they are useful 
for the purpose of identifying any dead body that may 
be found, for instance — and for other purposes 
sometimes. 

An unmarried girl once became pregnant and sought 
the advice of a doctor. She thought that she would ex- 
cite the compassion of this doctor, and perhaps induce 
him to treat her so that the pregnancy might be un- 
done, by telling him she had been cruelly assaulted by 
a man in the train ! Doctors, however, learn how to 
sift the truth of such stories ; this particular practi- 
tioner began by giving the girl slight hopes, and he 
also designedly made reference to the benefit of 
doubts; he, moreover, gave her just a little sympathy, 
in order that he might all the easier first find out 
whether the girl was really pregnant — for some merely 
imagine they are so, after having conducted themselves 
improperly with their lovers. The girl was asked to 
expose the nipples of her breasts for examination ; 
meanwhile the doctor thought that he ought to be 
extremely careful this time, in his judgment, because 
the girl was expressing her determination, while giving 
her history, to take action against the man who as- 
saulted her. Now, it must be fully appreciated that a 
man may, or may not, have assaulted her. She was 
in the family way; and she might possibly have en- 
ticed some man in the train to take liberties with her 
so that she might bring paternity home to him. Such 
schemes are planned oftener than the reader may 
imagine. Well, here is where the white lines of a 
former pregnancy came in. This girl seemed quite a 



CHANGES DURING PREGNANCY 57 

good girl, and she poured forth her tale with all the 
airs and beseechings of genuineness that she could 
donjure up. Her nipples looked very unlike those of 
a virgin, and therefore the abdomen was examined. 
There were white lines ! After being told very im- 
pressively that she had been pregnant before, and that 
her story was not believed, the girl went away 
ashamed and sorrowing. The important point is this : 
the true character of the girl might have been mis- 
judged, the deception of her story being carried 
through completely and successfully, if she had pro- 
ceeded to take action against perhaps quite an inno- 
cent man. 

The white lines or scars I refer to are very signifi- 
cant. They are even convincing. Tragedy has even 
followed their discovery, after a husband had fondly 
imagined his newly-wedded wife to have led a blame- 
less life. 

Signs of cracks in the deeper layers of the skin may 
sometimes be found, which have nothing to do with 
pregnancy, however, in those who are extremely fat, 
not only on the abdomen but on the breasts, buttocks, 
or thighs. Abdominal tumors, which cause great en- 
largement, will also produce them ; it is important to 
remember this point also. 

"Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part; 
Do thou but thine." 

—MILTON. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE SIGNS AND SYPTOMS OF PREGNANCY. 

Most wives will quite agree that it would be ex- 
tremly useful if they could always tell just when they 
became pregnant. A condition that imposes a burden 
upon them that will increase as months go on, and 
which entails a good deal of anxiety, and often suffer- 
ing afterwards, is one that must be viewed with some 
seriousness; the bare truth whether a woman is preg- 
nant, or is not, must therefore be of some value. 

In the first place, however, the reader must grasp 
one fact in particular, and that is, most of the signs 
or symptoms of pregnancy are unreliable zvhen con- 
sidered by themselves, and consequently the difficulty of 
arriving at a definite and correct conclusion is some- 
times very great. It is only to be expected that wives 
themselves should often find it impossible to find out 
the truth, even when they have learned from a book 
what to observe and how to judge any symptoms they 
display. In the following paragraphs the various 
signs and symptoms of pregnancy will be given and 
explained, so that the reader may gain a fair knowl- 
edge of the chief points from which doctors derive their 
judgment. But, just before turning to these, let 
us be certain of the meaning of the terms, signs and 
symptoms. Signs are facts that are visible or audible, 
such as spots, swellings, or heart-beatings, for ex- 
ample. Vomiting and hemorrhage are signs as well as 

58 



SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS 59 

symptoms for a patient may feel them and relate the 
fact to the doctor, who may also see them if he have 
the opportunity. Pain is a pure symptom, not capable 
of being seen, even though its effects may be. Sensa- 
tions are symptoms. 

Now we may commence our study of this subject by 
noting the fact that when pregnancy exists a wife will 
sometimes experience mental or nervous disturbances ; 
neuralgia, sleeplessness, or gloomy forebodings may 
trouble her, which will lessen, however, as pregnancy 
advances. The reader must not forget the fact that 
such symptoms as these are not invariably present, but 
they are experienced in a sufficient number of cases to 
justify their inclusion in a list of signs and symptoms; 
this same warning should be taken regarding most of 
the other signs and symptoms about to be mentioned. 
It must not be supposed that because a woman has not 
one or the other out of the list she is therefore not preg- 
nant; and conversely, she must not put herself down 
as certainly pregnant if she have only one or even two 
signs or symptoms to be found in the list. Such nerv- 
ous conditions as those named may be very success- 
fully treated by medicines and by mental persuasions. 
The patient may well be comforted by the informa- 
tion that it is only on rare occasions that a woman 
does not get over her confinement quite satisfactorily, 

A good deal of irritability of temper and disposition 
to quarrel is sometimes shown by a pregnant wife, but 
this may be lived down or counteracted in some sim- 
ple way or other for the time being. Occasionally 
pregnancy has been observed to soothe an irritability 
of temper that is natural. Therefore the reader will 
see that the very first symptoms mentioned, namely, 
nervous or mental changes, are not in the least to be 
relied upon by themselves. Almost any state of the 



6o THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

nervous system may show itself, from calmness of 
disposition in one who is usually of an excitable na- 
ture, to hysterical or wild expressions of horror at 
trifling things in one usually so calm. Consequently, 
pregnant women should always avoid sights or stories 
that are unpleasant. They should cultivate a serene, 
sweet, happy, and undisturbed frame of mind. I 
would further strongly advise lady doctors not to 
practise in their profession if they are wives and 
should become pregnant, for tendencies to over-esti- 
mate unpleasant sights are often observed in preg- 
nant women. Operations, and the instruments con- 
cerned, sights of blood, such might produce an abnor- 
mal effect upon any pregnant beholder. 

Some amount of tenderness and fullness will usually 
be perceived in the breasts during pregnancy, some- 
times quite early, and occasionally shooting pains 
through them ; and at the second or third month en- 
largement may be noticed, which will grow more pro- 
nounced as pregnancy advances. Blue veins will also 
be observed coursing along under the skin surface, 
which are not to be found when the breasts enlarge 
through any other condition but pregnancy. The 
nipples, and the brownish or pinkish area around 
them, generally take on features that are most charac- 
teristic of pregnancy. The nipples themselves always 
become more prominent and sensitive ; and they are 
liable to stick out more when touched, or if nipped or 
squeezed; as early as the third month sometimes, a 
little mucoid discharge may possibly issue from them 
in many cases. This mucoid or milky discharge is also 
a more certain sign of first pregnancy — in fact, a most 
significant one. The darkened circle around the nip- 
ples becomes deepened in color, the degree depending 
upon the complexion of a woman : the fair may hardly 



SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS 6i 

show any change in color at all, while sometimes the 
dark will even manifest a hue almost quite black. 
Such darkening is observed more distinctly when 
pregnancy has occurred for the first time; some 
amount may persist afterwards, rendering the sign un- 
reliable in future. Moreover, twelve or fifteen little 
spots, to be found in the darker area around most nip- 
ples, will, during pregnancy, become much larger and 
more obvious. 

An appearance of veins over the breasts — which 
themselves have become firmer and probably slightly 
larger — is a sign of some value. But a mucoid dis- 
charge from the nipples, which have been squeezed, is 
not quite a certain sign. Infants will sometimes show 
a similar discharge, while some observers have re- 
corded instances occurring in old women — and even 
in men ! 

A tendency to darkening may also be seen in other 
parts of the body, in those parts where some diflfer- 
ence in color is always to be found. The color may 
be deepened below the eyes, and on the abdomen, for 
instance. Nearly always a dark line is to be found 
running downwards to the pubes, from the navel, in 
pregnant women. Occasionally quite an appearance of 
tanning may be seen on the face also, especially on the 
sides of the cheeks near the temples, causing rather a 
disfigurement ; this will however disappear again soon 
after confinement. 

Most signs are of themselves only corroborative, 
and must be placed side by side with several others 
before a final conclusion is arrived at. They may 
be found in other conditions besides pregnancy. 
Imagined pregnancy will even produce changes, in 
color, and markings as well as size. 

The spots around the nipples, in the dark areolae, 



62 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

are not an absolutely certain sign either, though they 
may generally be relied upon in conjunction with 
other signs and symptoms. Some show them more 
than others, in even the virgin state, and they will 
also undergo a certain amount of change in appear- 
ance under conditions other than the pregnant one. 

The digestive system seems to be affected in many 
cases, and a depraved appetite, with particular fancies, 
or distastes, or longings for strange articles of diet, 
may develop. But the same symptoms have also been 
observed in those subject to menstrual disturbances 
or irregularities, so that even they are not to be relied 
upon by themselves. Increased flow of saliva is also 
frequently observed. 

Morning sickness is a valuable sign or symptom, 
especially if nothing can be found to satisfactorily 
account for it except pregnancy, and more especially 
if the slightest enlargement of the abdomen can be 
made out at the same time — and if the monthly 
periods have also stopped. Sometimes it occurs im- 
mediately on conceiving, but generally it begins after 
the first menstrual stoppage, and continues more or 
less for two months, while it may go on as long as 
four months. There are some very definite peculiari- 
ties about it which will serve to distinguish it from 
vomiting produced by other causes* It occurs gener- 
ally in the morning, as its name indicates, and causes 
very little discomfort. Just the opposite to sea-sick- 
ness, for instance, it does not make the patient feel 
particularly ill. It is possible that it may be compli- 
cated with ill-health, however, and in such a case per- 
haps nausea may also be experienced. A woman can 
eat after vomiting, when afilicted with ordinary morn- 
ing sickness, and will appear to others to be none the 
worse for "throwing-up.'* The symptoms of nausea 



SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS 63 

may occur as a result of disordered digestion, the sick- 
ness being compound. Very severe vomiting is dealt 
with in a later chapter. 

The tendency to pass water more frequently, re- 
ferred to in the previous chapter, is a symptom that 
several other conditions besides pregnancy might pro- 
duce ; therefore by itself it is unreliable. But its pres- 
ence might help, to some extent, to persuade an anx- 
ious wdfe that she was "in an interesting condition," 
especially when other strong, confirmatory evidence 
was there. 

The stopping of the monthly periods is a symptom 
commonly made very much of, especially by unpro- 
fessional observers. It is generally the very first 
thing noticed by a wife, and is sure to lead her to sus- 
pect pregnancy. When there does not appear to be 
anything else to account for it, such as anaemia, con- 
sumption, or any definite illness, then it is a sign of 
very considerable value, especially if the monthlies 
have always been regular before. But once again 
the reader must be persuaded that no sign or symp- 
tom taken by itself can be an absolutely reliable indi- 
cation whether a woman is pregnant or not, for it is 
a fact that a woman may be pregnant and still go on 
having her monthly periods. It is not usual that this 
extraordinary condition manifests itself, but it occa- 
sionally does. 

Just for one or two periods a small amount of col- 
ored discharge may make its appearance after concep- 
tion has taken place, making a woman believe that she 
is not pregnant, and cases have been known in which 
some discharge has continued to occur throughout the 
whole period of pregnancy, though perhaps not quite 
regularly both as to time and amount. 

The monthly periods of any woman may stop on 



64 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

account of some shock, such as a railway accident 
would produce. And cases of stoppage, not due to 
pregnancy, have been known to follow marriage ; they 
have occurred through mental or nervous changes 
which have been brought about. Fright, alone, has 
been known to cause a stoppage after illicit inter- 
course had taken place. 

It must be carefully recollected that though certain 
conditions of ill-health will put a stop to the menstrual 
periods, pregnancy may be present at the same time. 
Menstruation is commonly suspended during lactation 
— that is, while feeding a child on the breast. And 
every mother should know that such suspension does 
not prove that they cannot become pregnant again, as 
is very often supposed. Women have been known to 
go on feeding their children on the breast simply in 
order to prevent further conception, as they have 
imagined ; but they may conceive again during this 
time, notwithstanding. This may be understood from 
a curious fact, referred to in a later chapter, that a 
woman may conceive even though she have never 
menstruated. 

Not only is the stoppage of the menstrual flow a 
valuable sign of pregnancy, when considered with 
others, and when it cannot be accounted for readily 
by any other condition^ but it is still more valuable be- 
cause the date of the last appearance is used to reckon 
the date for delivery from. 

One of the most certain symptoms of pregnancy is 
that almost invariably perceived by the wife herself, 
namely, the foetal movements — the movements of the 
child in the womb, which give the sensation of flutter- 
ing or slight thumpings, according to the energies 
displayed by the foetus. They may be felt earlier, but 
the usual time for them to be sufficiently pronounced 



SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS 65 

to be unmistakable is at four-and-a-half months, when 
the size of the foetus is such that parts of it press on 
the front of the abdomen. They may also be seen 
quite well on looking carefully at the surface of the 
abdomen. When they are first felt, a woman com- 
monly understands that she is "quickening." They 
give her an idea that everything is developing now 
apace. When first felt by a wife who has not been 
pregnant before, they are so unusual to her that they 
often give rise to faintness or unpleasant sensations. 
Later on they are much more evident, while some- 
times they may be so strong as to distress the wife very 
much indeed, causing sleeplessness. The foetus may 
be made to move at almost any time by handling it 
through the surface of the abdomen. 

These movements of the foetus are extremely im- 
portant in more respects than one. They not only 
indicate pregnancy if there has been any doubt before- 
hand, but they show that the foetus is living, and they 
often thus set anxious minds at rest which have been 
worrying for weeks over the question what has really 
been developing, whether a foetus or a tumor, and 
whether dead or alive. Also, they give some indica- 
tion as to how far advanced a pregnancy is. If a 
woman have lost count, or if she have not paid suffi- 
cient attention to her signs and symptoms to be able 
to come to a conclusion from them, the "quickening," 
at the four-and-a-half months, will tell her all. But 
here again we are pulled up by confusing exceptions, 
for movements are not always felt as early as this, 
and, on the other hand, movements may be felt which 
are not caused by a foetus but by the bowels; those 
expecting or hoping for pregnancy have often in their 
enthusiasm and anxiety imagined that they have felt 
foetal movements. 



66 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Doctors can feel the parts of the foetus through the 
walls of the abdomen long before the woman herself 
can. Even at the beginning of the fourth month, 
movements can be felt by a doctor when an examina- 
tion is made by the finger through the vagina. 

The rea'der will understand that, among those 
signs and symptoms of pregnancy which have been 
given, some will be evident and useful to a woman 
herself, while others can only be fully understood and 
looked for by the doctor. Both sets are given, how- 
ever, because it is well that women should know 
something of the signs and symptoms as they are un- 
derstood and considered by scientific and practised 
medical men. Women often think that it must be one 
of the simplest things in the world for a doctor to de- 
tect pregnancy; so it is, generally, but there are so 
many other conditions, such as tumor formations, mal- 
formations, and even imaginary formations on the 
part of patients, that, occasionally, some difficulty 
must be found. Moreover, on rare occasions, preg- 
nancy and tumor formation will occur at one and the 
same time. A certain doctor might find the tumor 
and overlook the pregnancy another might detect 
pregnancy and miss the tumor, and still another might 
discover both, even though neither were far advanced 
in growth. Sometimes a tumor growth is small and a 
pregnancy far advanced, and again, a growth may be 
large, while a pregnancy is just beginning. It will 
therefore be at once seen by the reader that circum- 
stances are bound to create difficulties and confusions 
in a few rare instances. An extensive knowledge of 
complications and variations has made medical men 
extremely cautious in their judgment respecting preg- 
nancy and other conditions, and it is by no means true, 



SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS 67 

as some appear to imagine, that a doctor can tell when 
a woman is pregnant by the look of her face. 

Pregnancy causes such changes in the blood-vessels 
— varicose veins, for instance — that the vessels of the 
vagina also shows signs of being influenced. This 
same sign may also be observed, however, w^hen tu- 
mors are present, so that it must not be taken for a 
certain one by any means. 

The most useful and certain method of diagnosing 
pregnancy for the doctor to employ is the listening 
through a stethescope for what is called a souffle, and 
for the foetal heart-sounds. A souffle is a sound made 
by the rushing of blood through vessels, and it may 
be heard towards the end of the fourth month or even 
earlier. The stethescope is pressed deep down on the 
sides of the woman's abdomen, and the characteristic 
sound is listened for. But this same sound may be 
also caused by the pressure of tumors, and therefore 
the heart-sounds must also be sought for. These can 
be heard in the same manner, for the first time as 
early as the eighteenth week. They sound like a 
watch ticking under a pillow. No indication of preg- 
nancy is more certain than these heart-sounds. They 
can belong to nothing else but a living foetus, and 
they are therefore absolutely conclusive. 

But heart-sounds are extremely valuable for quite 
another reason ; they indicate the exact position of the 
foetus as it lies in its mother's womb. As we have 
seen already in this book, the foetus does not always 
lie in one direction, or even position. There is one 
direction which is commonest and most natural, 
namely, that in which the foetus has its head directed 
downwards, its back turned towards the left groin ; 
and the doubled-up legs and arms facing the right but- 
tock, while the breech or opposite end of the foetus is 



68 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

directed upwards. This gives the commonest posi- 
tion quite roughly. Sometimes, however, the head 
is uppermost and the breech below; the back of the 
foetus being directed towards the back of the mother 
instead of the front, and still more rarely and more 
unfortunately the foetus may lie '^crossed'' in the 
abdomen — that is, in a more or less horizontal posi- 
tion. The doctor can tell exactly what position a foe- 
tus is in by ascertaining where he can best hear the 
heart-sounds; and he can also tell whether there are 
twins or not, of course. 

The reader will know enough at this stage to be 
able to realize how easily conditions of the abdomen 
may be misjudged, and how it may occasionally be 
rather difficult for even a doctor to come to a conclu- 
sion when there are complications during the very 
early months. During the first three, and sometimes 
four months, the difficulties are greater because the 
womb has not then grown very large — perhaps only 
the size of an orange. But even at this stage a doctor 
can generally tell quite certainly, by merely handling 
the womb from the exterior, especially when other 
signs and symptoms are present, whether an enlarge- 
ment present is due to any other cause. There are 
conditions, however, which no one in the world can 
diagnose, without exploring the inside of the womb 
itself. A dead embryo or foetus — with no heart-beat 
— may remain in the womb a long time, for instance, 
giving all sorts of contradictory signs and symptoms. 

Every pregnant woman would naturally wish to 
know whether her foetus were alive or dead, should 
she develop the slightest suspicion of anything being 
wrong. There are indications of death which a 
woman herself may learn and perceive, and there are 
others which only doctors can be acquainted with. Of 



SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS 69 

the former the following are the commonest: — Before 
any movements of the foetus have been felt, during 
the earliest months, it may be noticed that the gradual 
enlargement formerly noticed has stopped, and that in 
some instances there has even been a diminution in 
size or a sinking lower. At the same time the breasts 
may also be felt to be less firm than before. If the 
general health is also noticed to be below par, the 
death of the foetus has probably taken place. A 
sensation of a cold dead weight in the abdomen is 
sometimes described by mothers. If a dirty brown 
discharge comes from the womb at the same time it 
is certain that the foetus is dead. Some women have 
noticed nasty tastes in the mouth while carrying a 
dead foetus. Shivering fits are also frequently com- 
plained of. 

"For time will teach thee soon the truth, 
There are no birds in last year's nest!" 

—LONGFELLOW. 



CHAPTER VIII 

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR. 

There is really little occasion for a women to let her 
doctor know that she suspects she is in an ^'interesting 
condition/' or that she is even certain of it, during the 
very early months, unless she have very particular 
reasons. Sometimes the excitement that a suspicion 
creates will lead a wife, or even her husband, to de- 
sire to know the truth, at once if possible, and the 
doctor's verdict is sought without delay; but, after 
all, time proves most things, and a little patience is 
never so valuable as on these occasions. Another 
month or two and everyone can be certain. But not 
infrequently the pressure symptoms produced by the 
enlarging foetus will not be understood, or will pro- 
duce a feeling of unrest which only a visit to the doc- 
tor will settle, especially if the pregnant condition be 
the first one. 

It is satisfying to be certain of one's condition ; even 
men often realize this ; some have remarked, when 
they have been a little out of sorts, that "It does a 
fellow good even to see the doctor and have a chat 
with him ; one gets re-assured, and the horrid imagin- 
ings are soon dispelled." Therefore if a woman be 
pregnant for the first time, and does not know what 
signs and symptoms such a condition produces, she 
naturally looks for some advice. 

70 



AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR 71 

But of all things that disturb a young wife's mind, 
whether she be pregnant or no, there is nothing so 
discomforting and disturbing as the ill-advised and 
often intensely ignorant opinions given her by friends 
of her own sex, old, young, married, barren, or even 
single. The young pregnant woman reminds one of 
the wounded sea-gull. As soon as her condition is 
perceived her friends and relatives begin to flock 
around her with exclamations, commiserations and 
grave warnings — or at least to have a little chat about 
it. All try to be as wise as possible, of course. El- 
derly ladies relate their own experiences — chiefly very 
horrid, blood-curdling, and ghastly ones. Younger 
ones sympathize, but also relate stories of a dread- 
ful nature. Barren women hold up their hands in 
despair for their friend, thanking God they are not 
as other women are. Even single o.nes will guardedly 
and decorously pay an afternoon call, when they think 
no one else will be there, in order "to see how she 
takes it," and to touch upon the question in a quiet 
but still inquiring kind of way, as much as to say : "It 
may be rather horrid, in a way, but I wish I had the 
same chanices ; I should not mind risking any of the 
disagreeable things about marriage if I could only find 
a husband myself!'' 

It might be supposed that the talking-over of an 
"interesting condition" with nearest and dearest 
friends would be the most comforting and valuable 
thing a woman could do. So it is, sometimes — when 
the friends are true, really wise, and quite discreet. 
But very great harm is often done, and misery brought 
about, through careless conversations with friends, 
who know very little about the matter, but who al- 
ways have some "little instance" at their finger-ends, 
and who seem to delight in creating alarm, producing 



72 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

uncomfortable feelings and expectations in the young 
and timid. Any book which can give a young wife 
a fairly good idea of all that concerns maternity, from 
the beginning to the end, will be advantageous, if read 
and trusted in, merely to the extent that the words of 
friends can be proved by it to be true or false, honest 
or exaggerated, or better still, if busybodies can be 
silenced altogether, as they usually can be by a dis- 
play of superior knowledge. Let the inexperienced 
wife read for herself what she may expect, and tell her 
alarmist and provoking friends to talk about some- 
thing else when they visit her. 

The young pregnant wife who is so very much vis- 
ited may, of course, have a pain or two to complain of. 
But very rarely will her friends tell her this is noth- 
ing, or that it will soon pass away again ; they will 
usually look serious and begin to theorize ; they will 
feel sure they know the meaning of a particular twinge 
"if it is on one side'' ; they will feel convinced that 
it is a sign of that dreadful condition **the afterbirth 
growing to the side"; or they will argue that it is 
caused by two children struggling for more room — 
that ''there are of course twins if that is the case." 
Friends have also many wonderful instances to re- 
late, which either occurred in themselves or which 
they have known or heard of in others, and some will 
take a delight in informing the young and unac- 
quainted, "If there is no room you know, my dear, 
sometimes the doctor has to cut it out in front of the 
body ; oh ! it is dreadful at times." 

Good and sensible mothers are the ones to give use- 
ful counsel, if anyone should, and not the curious, pos- 
sibly childless, or naturally mischievous casual visitor. 
This matter would not be touched upon at all in these 
pages but for the fact that so many women suffer — 



AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR 73 

often quite seriously^through the thoughtless words 
of their friends. The present writer has known many 
wives who have dragged on a most pathetic, despair- 
ing, and even agonizing period of pregnancy simply 
because undue dreads of the future have been created. 
It would be impossible to exaggerate the harm that is 
sometimes done by merely a few words with some 
careless and thoughtless gabbler. One case is remem- 
bered where the wife was constantly sending for the 
present writer, because she was ''certain she was go- 
ing to miscarry.'' She had been thoughtlessly and 
wrongly told how women feel when such an occur- 
rence is impending, and, in her nervous state, she had 
on several occasions afterwards imagined pains and 
bearing-down to such an extent that more than once 
they were actually induced. The more she pained 
the more her friends assembled around to talk to her. 
Having got over the several suggestions of miscar- 
riage, she was nearing the full term when someone 
told her that she was sure to have a bad time consid- 
ering all the false pains she had had some time ago, 
and that something wrong must have resulted to make 
her future confinement dangerous to her. Something 
wrong had resulted, it is true, but not what this friend 
had supposed. Nothing at all was defective in her 
anatomy, or witfi the child when it was born ; but the 
woman was a perfect wreck when the time for her 
confinement came, and she had no strength to go 
through it, ultimately requiring chloroform and in- 
struments. Her nervous system was all-to-pieces, and 
she made a very slow and imperfect recovery — all this 
on account of conversations with friends. 

Any young wife would have learned a valuable les- 
son, if she had merely read these few paragraphs deal- 
ing with the advice or information of friends concern- 



74 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ing her impending pregnancy, and had not looked 
at another page. There is something that appears so 
trifling, and that is so easy to obtain, but withal so 
dangerous to a woman as careless conversations, with 
odds and ends of visitors, upon the past dangers, the 
present risks, and the future probabilities that are 
connected with *'an interesting condition/' 

In any case of doubt during the earlier months, if 
the young wife's mother herself do not thoroughly 
understand everything, and if all cannot be found in- 
telligible in a handbook, then it is best to visit the 
doctor at once. It will be necessary to have to visit 
him before long, in order that he may be retained to 
attend the confinement, and therefore there need be 
very little hesitation. He will set anxiety at rest and 
take stock of the existing state ; he will help the mind 
out of its troubles or forebodings and inspire confi- 
dence for the future. Let any dark information or 
frightening ideas be put before him, and let him give 
his version ; he will not terrify or mislead. 

When making the first visit to the doctor save for 
his examination a specimen of water that is passed 
on first rising in the morning. Such a specimen 
should be saved and examined at least once a month 
during the first eight months and once a week during 
the ninth. Oftener should the doctor so direct. By 
a careful urinary examination the doctor is often able 
to prevent and anticipate trouble of a serious nature. 

It is the custom for pregnant wives to definitely 
arrange beforehand for their doctors to attend them 
in confinement, for certain reasons. Pehaps the most 
important is this: the patient ought to be satisfied in 
her own mind that she will be professionally attended 
to when the time of her delivery arrives — or make as 
certain as it is possible to be. Medical men take 



AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR 75 

holidays occasionally, and they have a ^'day off'' now 
and again — the more fortunate of them — but if they 
have arranged to attend a confinement on a certain 
date they will not leave home for very many hours 
together about that time. Another advantage of the 
custom is found in the fact that arrangements to at- 
tend patients in confinement places medical men in 
the position of being able to refuse emergency cases 
for which they have not been previously engaged. A 
doctor may refuse to attend a woman in confinement 
if he has not arranged to do so beforehand — indeed, 
if he has any other case of his own to attend to, 
whether confinement or not. There is no excuse for 
a woman who has not arranged with either a doctor 
or a midwife. It is true that doctors are sometimes 
sent for by midwives who require skilled assistance, 
and that they always attend when they can, but that 
is another matter. 

Sometimes, also, a young wife will want to know 
from the doctor what fee she will be expected to pay, 
and this she may also ascertain on her first interview 
with him. While touching upon this subject it may 
be explained that there is a custom which still largely 
prevails among the poorer classes of paying a doc- 
tor on the day of the birth or on the last visit after 
confinement; this doubtless originated because of the 
nature of this class of case, being one for which the 
payment of the fee ought to be certain and made with- 
out delay. Doctors are proverbially subject to bad 
debts, for various reasons ; they are generally so will- 
ing to attend without questioning the exact status 
or probity of the people they visit ; they are often very 
unbusinesslike and open to dishonest intentions; and, 
moreover, they are less likely to take extreme meas- 
ures to recover debts. But though the injury thus 



76 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

inflicted upon a hard-working and self-sacrificing set 
of men is great enough, when returned for services 
rendered of the ordinary attentive kind, the cruel and 
criminal neglect to render payment for work done in 
respect to woman's confinement — perhaps in the 
night, when the rest of working humanity is asleep, 
and when all is cold and dreary — is beyond adequate 
comment, there can therefore be no wonder that the 
custom of prompt payment of midwifery fees should 
prevail. 

The reader will clearly understand that a first con- 
finement is usually very different from any that may 
follow, as has been suggested in an earlier chapter, 
and that her relationship with her doctor will natur- 
ally be in some respects rather different on future oc- 
casions, as may well be imagined. It very often hap- 
pens that a young wife is obliged to engage for her 
confinement a man she has never seen before, for she 
may have left the district she was brought up in by 
her parents. But she will generally have taken very 
full advice from her friends as to what doctor she 
should engage ; though not always by such means 
does she meet the most satisfactory one according to 
her own ultimate judgment. Friends have often pe- 
culiar reasons of their own for recommending certain 
doctors. It is not always safe to trust to the recom- 
mendations of apparently sincere visitors. But what 
else is a woman to do? the reader will doubtless ask. 
The reply is, that she cannot do better than listen to 
the advice of one or two of her very nearest and dear- 
est friends, who themselves have had children^ and who 
have learned their doctor by personal experience. 

The first visit to the doctor, by the young wife preg- 
nant for the first time, is therefore an important mis- 
sion. She will have the opportunity of making his 



AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR ^^ 

acquaintance, and gaining a certain degree of friend- 
ship which will make her feel happy and contented; 
she will feel that she is sure to have some one to at- 
tend her who will have full regard for her welfare. 
She ought not to see her doctor for the first time at 
the bedside, when in her pains of labor; she ought to 
know what face to expect as the man enters her room, 
and what kindly sympathies he is likely to bestow 
upon her in her trouble; she ought to feel confident 
that if the worst came to the worst nobody could do 
more for her than her doctor, and nobody would be 
more considerate and helpful. 

It must happen on rare occasions that a doctor has 
never seen his patient before her confinement has 
commenced. A doctor who had been seen before, and 
engaged, might be ill, or of necesssity away from 
home, while another is provided to attend. The pa- 
tient cannot help feeling disappointed, and to some 
extent uncomfortable, under such circumstances. One 
could not help having the greatest pity for a woman, 
who has anxiously awaited the time of her delivery, 
and counted upon the attendance of a doctor so well 
recommended and so pleasant and satisfactory on be- 
ing interviewed, and is obliged in the end to put up 
with his assistant or some other strange neighboring 
doctor hastily called in. But such things are bound 
to happen occasionally, and no one can prevent them. 

Not only will the interview to arrange the date, and 
to make attendance practically certain, help to form 
some acquaintance in the case of strangers, but the 
doctor will have an opportunity of finding out what 
his new patient is like, whether she is sound and 
healthy or not, and whether she is likely to have a 
favorable confinement or not. Very often a good idea 
as to prospects may be obtained by a merely casual 



78 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

survey of a woman's figure and form, and from her 
account of previous illnesses and present symptoms, 
while the doctor may be quite satisfied that the event 
is likely to pass ofif well when the time comes. But 
he may not always be so satisfied. Something may 
lead him to think otherwise. He may there and then 
suspect a deformed pelvis, and require to make either 
a superficial or an internal examination as the case 
may be, so that he may know what to expect at the 
confinement, and be prepared for it. 

Certain measurements of the size of the pelvic bones 
have sometimes to be taken, and it may now and then 
be necessary to ascertain the position of the foetus as 
it lies in the body, by the method of sounding, or by 
handling through the abdominal walls explained in a 
previous chapter. But whatever information a woman 
may obtain from such an inquiry on the part of her 
doctor, she should never make matters worse by turn- 
ing frightened. At the present day there are many 
perfect methods of eflfecting painless delivery, no mat- 
ter how deformed a mother may be, and doctors have 
become so skilled through increased knowledge and 
advanced discovery, that women have really little to 
be afraid of even when the worst things happen. It 
is only extremely rarely, after all, that confinements 
are not quite natural, while the mortality is very, very 
small under all circumstances — scarcely what women 
themselves would believe. 

Most of this chapter is concerned with the young 
wife who is pregnant for the first time, and she could 
hardly realize how diflFerent everything will be on 
subsequent occasions. After the first time she will 
find everything so quick, easy, and familiar that she 
will hardly be disposed to worry in the least ; she will 
know her doctor; he will know her; and she knows 



AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DOCTOR 79 

herself. Both have confidence. The book that had 
given, information for the first confinement may now 
be read over again ; but it will not be found quite so 
necessary, even if it m.ay always be more or less use- 
ful and interesting to a wife, inasmuch as that great 
master Experience has meanwhile also taught wis- 
dom. 

The doctor will tell his patient when to expect her 
confinement; he will reckon it quite accurately, in 
most instances, from the date of the last monthly 
period. Of course accuracy cannot be assured when 
the patient herself has made a mistake ; and moreover, 
every woman is liable to a premature birth. As a 
rule, however, the date can be fixed wonderfully ac- 
curately by the doctor, who consults tables made for 
the purpose. 

The wife herself may calculate the probable date of 
her delivery, however. She should count always from 
the last day of her last menstrual period, not the first, 
and she will require about 278 days from this day to 
her confinement, judging from averages. 

Every woman consulting a doctor, whether on ac- 
count of a pregnant condition or any other, should 
bear in mind that he is a man whose duty it is to help 
suffering humanity. He is not curious — not unkind. 
He will listen to complaints with sympathy, knowing 
so well from the many cases he sees what a woman's 
feelings must be, when she finds it necessary to con- 
sult him on account of her private anxieties or com- 
plaints. It is true that some doctors are easier to talk 
to than others, and appear more pleasantly respon- 
sive, but practically all realize that they have a very 
important duty to perform, towards even the poorest 
and meanest patient. As gentlemen, they will use 
every consideration for those inclined to be nervous; 



8o THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

and whenever an investigation should be unpleasant 
or painful they will do what they can to alleviate. 

"O, fear not in a world like this. 
And thou shalt know ere long, — 
Know how sublime a thing it is 
To suffer and be strong." 

—LONGFELLOW. 



CHAPTER IX 
LIFE DURING PREGNANCY—DIET AND EXERCISE. 

A pregnant woman should lead the healthiest life 
possible, simply because her condition as a prospective 
mother will properly require it, and because her ulti- 
mate confinement will tax her strength to a consider- 
able degree, while the after-feeding of the infant on 
the breast — if this is decided upon — and it ought to 
be — will require physical fitness and a healthy per- 
formance of all functions. If she have not already 
studied certain principles of healthy living — unless, 
perchance, she may never have had occasion to study 
herself, having been always well and hearty — then 
she should at once commence to take an interest in 
the maintenance of good health. Whatever may 
happen, and however difficult and irksome such read- 
ing might be found, she should make some study and 
analysis of her body and mind; it will indeed pay to 
do so. 

It would be impossible in the space of an ordinary 
chapter to give anything like a full idea of the kind of 
life a pregnant woman should lead, because no two 
women are alike in temperament, abilities, or inclina- 
tions; and moreover, diflferent classes have different 
advantages. Of course, any peculiarities or radical 
defects of constitution, even of liver or digestive or- 
gans, should be carefully watched, and, if bad enough, 
placed under the advice of a doctor. 

8i 



82 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Under normal conditions very little need be men- 
tioned regarding diet. Good mixed diet, with a lean- 
ing towards the little in the case of butcher's meat, 
cannot be improved upon, while it is quite a mistake 
to imagine that a pregnant woman requires more feed- 
ing up than one not in this condition. Friends are 
sometimes in the habit — of course there are friends 
who know a very great deal about these things — of 
recommending a young pregnant woman to take beer, 
stout, port wine, and such like stimulants, thinking 
that they are good for this, that, or the other ; but she 
had better take such recommendations with extreme 
caution and obtain more reliable advice before acting 
on them. Even doctors are extremely careful before 
they recommend stimulants of any kind, beyond those 
usually taken by the individual, because they know 
that pregnant women may so readily be inclined to 
take them in too .great quantities. Incurable drink- 
ing habits have often been contracted before, during, 
or after a confinement. As a rule, the less taken of 
an alcoholic stimulating nature the better during both 
pregnancy and lactation. Weakly women may think 
they derive some benefit from a little beer, stout, or 
wine, and their strength may really be supported for 
the time being; but unfortunate is the woman who 
constantly finds occasion to take more than her cus- 
tomary allowance ; she is doomed. 

A fair amount of exercise should be taken during 
pregnancy ; in fact, as much as the legs will comfort- 
ably allow. If a woman suflfer from varicose veins to 
any great extent, or from other pressure symptoms, 
then she had better abstain from much walking exer- 
cise. In such a case, she would derive considerable 
advantage from drives out in a conveyance of some 
sort, if she be in a position to afford such pleasures. 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 83 

Should she be naturally strong, a little cycling will 
not do much harm in the earlier months, provided it 
is done slowly and easily, and no hills are negotiated 
— indeed, in many respects it will do a great deal of 
good — for cycling is really easier than walking when 
indulged in moderately. If she cannot sit on a saddle 
comfortably, however, or if pressure symptoms are 
increased, then this form of exercise should on no 
account be chosen. Excessive cycling will induce 
abortion, especially about the third month. The same 
advice applies very well to horse-riding, and even to 
any form of rough or violent exercise. 

It is neither fair, reasonable, nor healthy for women 
to studiously avoid all kinds of exercise during preg- 
nancy. Whatever helps to keep the whole body in 
a fit and healthy condition is certainly permissible, 
and some amount of exercise will do good in preg- 
nancy just as it will at any other time. The present 
writer has always considered that the longer a woman 
is liable to keep up the routine of non-pregnancy dur- 
ing pregnancy the better. Those who can keep up 
their walks to the very last day are almost sure to 
get on well in their confinement — that is to say, if the 
legs themselves, among other things, do not give 
way under the strain. Women who '^give up'' before 
they have reached the fifth or sixth month will drag 
on a most unhappy and gloomy existence until the 
confinement, which will very likely be a most trouble- 
some and anxious one. 

It is no use, however, battling against misfortune. 
If a woman cannot walk on account of her legs, there 
is no use in her persevering; she may only make her- 
self worse. She will soon find out what she can do 
and what she cannot. The rule should be that she 
should do all she can comfortably and without un- 



84 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

toward symptoms showing themselves. And let her 
not think herself far advanced in pregnancy too soon, 
so to speak; if she be in good health, the first five 
or six months ought to be passed over with hardly 
any inconvenience, and she ought scarcely to know 
there is anything of the nature of a pregnancy pecu- 
liar to her. One is persuaded to accept this theory 
from a study of cases which have occurred of women 
going to the fifth or sixth month without knowing they 
were pregnant. Less civilized races, who are hardier 
and have naturally healthy habits, make as little fuss 
during the same period as do animals. 

But the importance of judicious rest, on the other 
hand, must by no means be overlooked. It is as 
necessary as exercise in its way; sometimes more so. 
It is a nicely proportioned alternation that is wanted; 
a fair amount of rest is naturally indicated in the 
pregnant state, while the converse helps to keep a 
body in a strong and healthy condition. Both are 
therefore advocated according to circumstances, and 
in their turn ; less of the one and more of the other be- 
ing required according as signs and symptoms present 
themselves. A generally fit condition can only be 
maintained by a careful adjustment of habits and food 
— ^for both mind and body. The unfit will probably 
require the assistance of instruments at their confine- 
ment, because they have not the power or strength of 
endurance to "pain" long enough and strong enough, 
while the perfectly fit will go through the ordeal with- 
out very much trouble, and will recover rapidly and 
completely; so do circumstances alter cases. 

AILMENTS AND ILLNESSES DURING PREGNANCY. 

All sorts of diseases may attack the pregnant 
woman, but it is a remarkable fact that in this condi- 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 85 

tion she is generally singularly healthy and little pre- 
disposed to disease. It is a heaven-sent blessing that 
pregnancy usually improves the health of a woman: 
provided she be fairly well in condition to begin with, 
it seems to make her even better still, increasing her 
weight and improving her appetite. This is doubt- 
less a provision of the Great Maker designed to render 
her fit and favorable for producing offspring. So 
often leading very artificial and often very unhealthy 
lives, however, married women have their general 
health impaired by pregnancy in a large number of 
instances. 

If a woman should con-tract a specific disease in 
this connection, it generally takes a serious form and 
is very likely to provoke a miscarriage. Short refer- 
ence will be made to some of the diseases and affec- 
tions that may possibly attack her, although such a 
subject might appear to entirely belong to medical 
men, as also might abnormalties or malformations. 
We shall all the time carry happily in our minds that 
a favorable event and termination is usual ; yet some 
exceptional conditions, complications, and termina- 
tions will be referred to, in order that wives may have 
a fairly comprehensive idea of the subject. A few 
exceptions will help to prove and explain rules. 

Very rarely a foetus, instead of developing inside 
the womb, will have its being in or near one of the 
tubes running from the womb to the ovaries. Again, 
sometimes the womb is displaced when pregnancy oc- 
curs, and symptoms of unusual and severe pressure 
are soon complained of. A few authorities have at- 
tributed excessive vomiting to unusual bending of the 
womb forwards ; and this same displacement certainly 
also produces a pendulous or prominent lower 



86 , THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

abdomen, especially if the walls of the abdomen them- 
selves are rather lax and flabby. 

If the womb is bent backwards at the time preg- 
nancy takes place, the result is likely to prove serious 
unless the condition be early attended to. In the 
majority of cases, if a woman have a displacement 
backwards it will get worse as pregnancy develops. 
The growing womb, thus out of position, will very 
soon exercise painful pressure on the surrounding 
parts. Very occasionally, however, the womb in- 
creases and, unaided, moves into a right position. If 
it flexes and presses still more, however, as time goes 
on, a miscarriage may result, and there may be trou- 
ble through a portion remaining behind for a bent 
womb does not expel everything contained in it so 
well as one in the proper position. 

The pregnant woman would soon understand that 
it is necessary to obtain medical advice if this condi- 
tion- of things were indicated. She would experience 
bearing-down pains and other agonies, especially on 
the lower part of the back, as well as a difficulty of 
passing her motions. Trouble with water might also 
be complained of, and probably difficulty would be 
found in passing it, particularly about the middle of 
the third month. 

Very much more distressing and dangerous symp- 
toms will soon be produced if advice be not promptly 
obtained. This persistent bending backwards of the 
womb when pregnancy has taken place may also oc- 
cur through an accident or fall, but then the symp- 
toms would come on suddenly, and there would also 
be a certain amount of shock, or perhaps faintness and 
vomiting. 

Before pregnancy has far advanced, it is, in most 
cases, comparatively easy for a doctor to put the 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 87 

womb in its proper position, and he will also be able 
to keep it there afterwards by means of some instru- 
ment suitable to the case. If it is im.possible to re- 
place it, then a miscarriage may either be awaited for, 
or induced, by means of an instrument, according as 
symptoms should seem to warrant. 

What is known as a prolapse or a coming-down of 
the womb may occur to the pregnant woman, and 
when it occurs it will usually be found in those who 
have had children before — practically never in the case 
of a first pregnancy, unless through accident or un- 
usual strain. Former confinements sometimes result 
in a general looseness of parts and passages, espe- 
cially if a woman have been a victim of indifferent 
health at the same time, and when there has not been 
enough muscular contractile force to keep the womb 
up. In some instances the womb has been driven 
down or prolapsed before pregnancy has occurred, and 
then it has enlarged in this position. Ruptures or 
tears of the perineum favor this condition of prolapse 
very considerably, for this part — between the open- 
ings of the two passages — affords the main support 
to the womb. When pregnancy has advanced to a 
certain stage, however, the womb will keep up by it- 
self, as mentioned before. 

A woman can often detect a fallen womb herself ; it 
may come down so far as to protrude its neck through 
the passages to the outside, and it may then be felt 
like a soft and moistened egg. But when advanced in 
pregnancy, the womb must rise in position, and its 
neck with it, so that the prolapse will be self-cured, as 
It were. It is possible, however, to have an elongated 
neck of the womb protruding, which will closely sim- 
ulate prolapse ; the reader must bear this in mind, and 



88 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

more rarely the neck may remain held down, elongat- 
ing as the womb rises up in advancing pregnancy. 

The doctor will attend to all such conditions as 
these, and the sooner he is sent for the better for the 
sufferer. A good deal of rest will be necessary, on the 
back, if prolapse occur during the earlier months, and 
the patient must wait patiently for the time when the 
womb holds itself up, while instruments for support- 
ing it, inserted by the doctor, will at the same time do 
their work. 

Morning sickness, already referred to under "Signs 
and Symptoms," may be very severe, and may require 
special treatment. It must be remembered that it 
may occur at other times of the day, and not be only 
a morning feature of pregnancy. Moreover, it may 
be so bad as to cause loss of appetite and exhaustion. 
Those pregnant for the first time are much more lia- 
ble to excessive vomiting than others, for morning 
sickness is considered to be due to the eflFects of the 
enlarging womb upon the nerves, which are naturally 
more sensitive in a first pregnancy; and therefore 
twins, as well as some other rapidly enlarging condi- 
tions, will be specially liable to produce excessive at- 
tacks. Nervously inclined women have been observed 
to suflfer more than others. Irritable conditions of the 
stomach, and chronic dyspepsias, will also be likely 
to aggravate the vomiting of pregnancy, whether this 
would otherwise be severe or not. 

Excessive vomiting in pregnancy may possibly be 
fatal, but it is very rarely so under proper treatment. 
The closest attention to the general health and diet 
must be observed, and all the directions of the medical 
attendant strictly carried out. No two cases are ex- 
actly alike, and only those who professionally watch 
individual cases can lay down the lines of treatment 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 89 

that are most suitable to each one. The recumbent 
posture is found to be most beneficial, as the reader 
will understand better after reading the chapter on 
posture as it affects the pregnant woman in various 
ways; she will understand that anything lessening 
abdominal and pelvic pressures will assuredly help to 
restore the general condition and health. In treating 
morning sickness, light and easily digested food, with 
the mildest drinks, Avill be found essential; but care- 
fully prescribed medicines must also be taken in 
severe cases, thus we may save a life that might other- 
wise be lost through the incessant and uncontrollable 
rejection of food — a misery that no constitution on 
earth could endure for long. 

The severest cases sometimes require the doctor to 
induce a miscarriage. When a woman's life is seen 
to be in danger the doctor will not hesitate to advise 
this procedure. The vomiting very soon stops after 
the womb is emptied. 

Sometimes a large amount of saliva will run from 
the mouth of a pregnant woman, so much as to be un- 
pleasant. But she must bear with this as much as 
possible, knowing that time will cure all things. 
Medicines are not advised for this condition, as they 
will be likely to create disturbances and states of the 
system that are even worse than the first. An occa- 
sional astringent lozenge may be sucked without any 
harm, however. 

Colds, neuralgia, breathlessness, palpitation, and 
such like affections may be treated just as they are in 
ordinary people. They indicate chiefly an unhealthy 
state of the system, which should be improved as soon 
as possible by adopting general principles of home 
treatment or by following particular advice. A cer- 
tain amount of shortness of breath during pregnancy 



90 THE WIFE : HER BOOK 

is only natural, and may be taken no notice of ; it is the 
severe cases that require the special attention of a 
medical adviser, those that may depend upon disease 
of the heart or other organs. 

A severe itching of the private parts is not uncom- 
mon, and may also be associated with some discharge. 
In the latter case, scrupulous care should be taken as 
regards cleanliness. The douche should be regularly 
employed and the parts washed. (See chapter on this 
subject.) Solutions of borax, boracic acid, or lead 
are valuable for the purposes of allaying itching and 
for purifying the surfaces. These may be made by 
placing as much boracic acid in water as it will dis- 
solve; the lead lotion requiring two drachms of strong 
subacetate of lead solution added to a pint of water. 
Other valuable applications will be recommended for 
individual cases by the doctor, but being highly poi- 
sonous, they cannot be advised for general use in a 
book written for all wives. A weak lead solution such 
as the above is perhaps the best and safest for most 
cases in which a discharge exists also. Boracic acid 
solution is always safe and purifying, even if it is not 
so good for the itching. 

There is an important state of ill-health that the 
reader should know something of, which may possibly 
affect the pregnant woman ; it is always serious, and 
may often proceed to a fatal issue ; it is a condition 
that is produced by disorder of the kidneys. Its most 
important indications are epileptic fits, while in asso- 
ciation with these there is generally to be found some 
swelling of the face, hands, and other parts of the 
body. Some women seem specially disposed to this 
trouble, and will have recurrences at every pregnancy. 
Any previous disease of the kidneys will probably be 
made worse by pregnancy, but fits are more likely 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 91 

to follow a sudden attack of puffiness or swelling than 
a chronic condition of the kidneys. 

Some form of paralysis will very commonly show 
itself when the kidneys are thus affected, and impair- 
ment of vision as well as deafness may also be com- 
plained of. Whenever a thickness or stiffness of the 
fingers is noticed, or any still more definite sign of 
dropsy, then the advice of a doctor should at once be 
obtained, for these signs presage far more serious ones 
that are sure to follow if nothing be done soon. The 
doctor will give directions as to the measures best to 
be adopted in each individual case. He will carefully 
regulate diet, give medicines, and also take special 
operative measures according to signs, symptoms, and 
general constitutional disorder. 

The fits themselves, though usually termed epileptic 
in most books, are not really so; they are more like 
those of epilepsy than any other, and the reader will 
have some idea of their kind by this name given to 
them. Sometimes they come on without the slightest 
warning, nothing regarding the general health having 
been observed beforehand; but oftener there are evi- 
dences of general ill-health showing themselves, such 
as severe headache and feelings of weakness or heavi- 
ness ; while unusual conditions of the eyesight, with 
dizziness, may also be complained of. Occasionally, 
friends may remark a puffiness of the face or eyelids 
a few days previous to an attack, and the patient her- 
self may notice a swelling of the ankles. These con- 
ditions are not altogether pleasant to read about, and 
I sympathize with the reader, but let the great major- 
ity be comforted in the fact that such abnormality is 
extremely rare; I feel bound to make reference to it 
for the sake of helping rare exceptions to a saving of 
life. It would not be fair to tell women that they are 



92 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

all certain to have the best of times during pregnancy 
and confinement — that it is not possible for anything 
to occur to them at any time. I have known of more 
than one life saved through a recognition of early 
puffiness in the face of a pregnant woman. 

The fits themselves may come on either before, dur- 
ing or after labor. The reader may have seen ordi- 
nary epileptic fits, and may therefore have some idea 
what those are lilce which sometimes complicate preg- 
nancy. They need not be accurately described here ; 
but if any woman, known to be in the later stages of 
pregnancy, should ever be found in an unconscious 
state, having before complained of feeling out of sorts, 
then the possibility of fits should always be borne in 
mind, so that advice may be obtained promptly, and 
every care may be taken of the patient at the same 
time, in case she should be seized with another. Any- 
one standing by may observe blood coming from the 
mouth of such a patient, indicating that the tongue 
has been bitten ; therefore it would be well for the 
handle of a tooth-brush to be placed between the teeth 
if another convulsion show itself, before the doctor 
arrives. The patient should never be left while in 
this convulsed or unconscious state, nor indeed until 
it is certain the fits will not return. 

Hysterical fits may occasionally be observed in the 
pregnant woman. These are nothing like so serious, 
however, as the epileptiform seizures associated with 
kidney derangement. And very rarely apoplectic 
seizures may also occur, caused by the breaking of a 
blood-vessel on the brain. 

Fits of an epileptic resemblance always denote a 
very grave condition of affairs. The mortality 
among those who suflFer from them is very high, both 
as regards mother and child. The fits may be so 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 93 

numerous, and follow so closely on one another, that 
the patient may ultimately succumb to exhaustion. 
If the fits themselves stop, occasionally serious in- 
flammation of the lungs will follow, through the inter- 
ference with regular and proper breathing that vio- 
lent spasms have produced. 

A favorite and very successful treatment for the 
doctor to adopt in the case of epileptiform fits is the 
administration of chloroform. This soon stops the 
seizures ; but it does more : it enables the doctor to 
effect delivery as quickly as possible, and this further 
procedure of itself is the very best thing to do in by 
far the majority of cases. The bowels should always 
be moved by the most rapid method practicable, if 
there is any opportunity at all for this at this moment. 
Then labor will be brought on by the doctor as rapidly 
as may be, and he will use every means to eflfect prompt 
delivery, so long as he can save the patient's life. If 
he can save that of the child also, all the better. Im- 
mediately after delivery the patient begins to improve 
as regards the actual fits. They soon get less fre- 
quent, and are not so strong as time goes on ; at 
length they stop altogether. The patient may die 
through exhaustion or inflammation afterwards, how- 
ever; but delivery certainly gives her the best chance 
of recovery. 

Simple swelling of the legs, not due to disease of 
the kidneys or to varicose veins, may take place, as 
also piles. Rest in the recumbent position, at inter- 
vals during the day, is again the only method of treat- 
ment of real value for such conditions. Carefully ap- 
plied bandages will help considerably in sufficiently 
distressing cases, whilst elastic stockings worn over 
silk or unirritating stockings may answer even bet- 
ter still. A broken vein in the leg, leading to con- 



94 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

siderable haemorrhage, will require the special treat- 
ment of a doctor. Those bothered with piles should 
have their bowels properly regulated, and should ap- 
ply either zinc, lead, gall, or hazeline ointment to the 
swollen and tender parts by way of simple home 
remedy. 

There are certain other affections and diseases 
which may afflict a woman more or less seriously 
while in the pregnant state, and some of these will be 
mentioned, though they do not belong exclusively to 
pregnancy. 

Consumption is not often found among pregnant 
women ; but this is probably on account of the fact 
that pregnancy is not so likely to occur in those hav- 
ing any consumptive tendency. Anyone, however, 
may ultimately contract consumption ; sunburnt sail- 
ors sometimes develop the disease, through sleeping 
in unhealthy bunks and living in the impure atmos- 
phere of cabins ; strong soldiers will also suffer some- 
times, if life in barracks happens to be unhealthy; 
therefore it will be understood that the strongest of 
pregnant women may possibly develop consumption. 

Inflammation, of the lungs may also attack a preg- 
nant woman. It nearly always causes a miscarriage. 
Of course such an illness, in such a state, would be 
likely to prove serious. 

During pregnancy the heart changes a good deal 
in size and strength, on account of alterations in the 
circulation of the blood which take place. Pregnancy 
will be likely to prove a dangerous thing if any heart 
disease have existed previously. Therefore women 
who know their hearts are diseased should not marry. 

Tumors may be present in the body, to complicate 
pregnancy, either connected with the womb or near 
to it. If large, the outlook is somewhat serious, as 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 95 

may well be imagined. The growth of the womb will 
go on side by side with that of the tumor, and there 
is no calculating what the result may be unless an 
operation be performed. As a rule, tumors which are 
so small that they are not likely to interfere with the 
delivery are left alone. 

Ordinary surgical operations on any part of the 
body may be necessary during pregnancy, and they 
will often cause miscarriage. Those, therefore, that 
are not urgent had better be deferred until some time 
after delivery. 

Various fevers may attack a pregnant woman, 
though, as before pointed out, she is less likely to take 
them than other people ; and they frequently cause 
miscarriage or premature labor when they do occur. 
The reader must, at this stage of consideration, bear 
in mind the difference between the pregnant state 
and what is known among doctors as the puerperal 
state; the latter term indicates the period after deliv- 
ery, when a woman is recoverin-g from the effects of 
pregnancy. Her health at this time is quite differ- 
ent, so far as her constitution is concerned, and she is 
then more liable to contract certain diseases. Fevers 
which attack the puerperal woman are likely to run 
a most dangerous course. 

It is pleasant to be able to record that many nerv- 
ous affections distinctly improve during pregnancy; 
they are almost sure to do so if the general health 
improves at the same time — and it has already been 
pointed out that it very often does. Women who have 
been nervous and hysterical when single have been 
known to leave such ailments behind when they mar- 
ried and became pregnant; they have fattened and 
grown more passive in their demeanor, showing signs 
of being contented, and sometimes even listless 



96 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

towards everything around them, while previously 
they had appeared to be *'all nerves/' 

Mothers have sometimes either seen in their own 
children, or have heard of them existing in others, 
certain moles or red marks on the skin, which usually 
manifest no particular shape or resemblance to any- 
thing at all; but often they have the appearance of 
something which the child's mother has recollected to 
have given her a nervous shock when she was preg- 
nant, when she was carrying in the womb the child 
on which the mark has appeared. Certain accounts 
of incidents and sights seen by such mothers and their 
friends seem sometimes to be quite accurate, as re- 
lated in explanation of the moles or marks, while as 
often as not they may be merely imagined. Several 
very remarkable and rather convincing cases have 
been observed by the present writer, one of which 
may be mentioned. 

While her husband was away from home, a young 
wife was once attacked by a murderous ruffian who 
had broken into her house for the purpose of robbing 
it. She endeavored to get away, and she shrieked for 
assistance, but was not successful in obtaining any 
before he had dealt her a severe blow on the head with 
a jimmy. Her forehead sustained a cut some three 
or four inchs in length, which when seen by the pres- 
ent writer, was gaping and bleeding severely. She 
happened to be about three and a half months ad- 
vanced in pregnancy on the occasion ; and when in 
the fullness of time her child was born, it had, in an 
exactly similar position, a purplish mark of a naevus 
nature, being of a similar size, in> proportion, to the 
wound of the mother. 

Marks resembling frogs, apples, birds, animals, 
bunches of grapes, tomatoes, and all kinds of things 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 97 

are said to have appeared on infants as a result of 
some terrifying or startling sight seen by the mother 
while pregnant. Sometimes these appearances have 
been like the object they were supposed to represent, 
and sometimes they have not in the least resembled 
them. It is not at all clear, judging from a large num- 
ber of cases seen, how much any event occurring dur- 
ing pregnancy may produce a corresponding sign in 
the child; further investigation will have to be made 
before a final and correct conclusion can be arrived at. 
It is certain, however, that pregnant women should 
not witness horrifying^ startling, or dreadful sights, 
for more reasons than one. 

There is a condition that pregnant women may be 
troubled with, which can scarcely be called an ailment 
or illness, but which had better be mentioned under 
this heading, and that is constipation. It is not an 
uncommon trouble during pregnancy, and it is doubt- 
less caused in many instances by the pressure of the 
enlarging womb. It may be treated by various open- 
ing medicines, or by enemas or suppositories. But 
diet should be given the first chance. Drugs should 
only be taken when diet and moderate exercise fail; 
while enemas or suppositories should only be resorted 
to when diet and drugs have both failed. The read- 
er's attention is drawn to this condition the more par- 
ticularly because it is one that will be likely to affect 
her in confinement if she suffer habitually. If the 
bowel is loaded at the time labor commences there 
may be considerable delay on this account. The child 
must pass down through the pelvic outlet, and it will 
require every bit of space in the pelvis that it can get, 
in order to get over the journey smoothly and well. 
If a good deal of room is taken up by a mass in the 
back passage, then an obstacle of some degree is met 



98 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

by the descending head. Therefore, pregnant women, 
reaching the last week or so, had better pay special 
attention to their bowels and see that a daily evacua- 
tion is promoted. It is better to have them relaxed 
for a few days prior to the expected date of delivery 
than to have any constipation whatsoever. 

A pregnant woman should always feel entitled to 
include among her methods of treating any ailment 
during pregnancy the relief of the recumbent posture ; 
most pressure distresses will be alleviated by reclin- 
ing for an hour or more. 

But of all preventives and remedies nothing will 
give more powerful results all round than careful at- 
tention to diet. Breathlessness, heartburn, water- 
brash, a feeling of uncomfortable fullness, constipa- 
tion, sleeplessness, irritability of temper, headache, 
piles, skin irritabilities or outbreaks and even varicose 
veins to some extent — all these things may be avoided 
or cured by careful attention to diet — not eating over- 
much, not partaking of too large quantities of either 
stimulating food or drink, taking a finely-proportioned 
mixed diet of butcher's meat in small quantities, as 
well as vegetables, fruits, and farinaceous foods. If 
fruits or vegetables are difficult to obtain, then dried 
fruits, raisins, currants, etc., should be freely added to 
puddings. All highly seasoned foods, soups, or meat 
extracts should be avoided; plain things are better. 

Whenever aperients are necessary through the diet 
not being quite suitable to ensure regularity of the 
bowels, these should also be of a mild and simple 
nature. Rhubarb pills, flowers of sulphur, sulphate 
of soda, or any ordinary saline preparations may be 
mentioned by way of example. 

Should a pregnant woman suflFer from laxity of tis- 
sue generally, and pendulous body particularly, a well- 



LIFE DURING PREGNANCY 99 

fitting abdominal belt should be procured. It should 
never be drawn tight, in order to reduce what may be 
considered an unsightly contour, but kept at a com- 
fortably supporting tension, being let out gradually as 
size increases. Such a belt will also serve to render 
bladder trouble less likely to add to the general pres- 
sure effects. 

Diarrhoea will usually depend upon errors in diet, 
and will consequently be cured by such being cor- 
rected; it should be remembered, however, that it is 
sometimes a sign of constipated bowels higher up. 

The breasts should always be allowed a comfortable 
freedom as they are disposed to enlarge, while the 
nipples should never be unduly pressed upon by a 
too tight corset. They will be required by the baby 
very soon, and should be allowed to project suitably. 
Should they refuse to do so, a little encouragement 
shortly before confinement might be given them by 
means of a glass appliance to be bought at a druggist's 
for the purpose; or a clean glass bottle heated before 
the fire and its mouth put over the nipple will draw 
it out as it cools. The nipples had better be kept 
clean and healthy by being occasionally dabbed with 
boracic lotion, or with brandy and water in equal 
parts. 

The reader — especially if pregnant — must not be 
frightened by anything referred to in this chapter; 
provided she pay due attention to her health, studying 
the principles laid down in this book as a guide, her 
confinement will pass off quite favorably. The more 
serious the complication — such as epileptiform fits, 
for instance — the less likely is it to occur — fortu- 
nately. The simplest ailments are the commonest. 
The present writer does not believe in leaving out 
of account all serious conditions, for a woman has a 



lOO THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

right to know much of herself in these days of many 
facilities for reading and keen desire to learn. If this 
simple volume can induce women to make up their 
minds to produce the best offspring they can — and 
they have just as much right to do so as the cattle 
beloved of the prize stock-breeder — and more — to help 
to regenerate, rather than degenerate, the race, then he 
will not have introduced just a little disquieting read- 
ing for nothing. 

To be able to produce creditable offspring should be 
a right-minded woman's chiefest ambition. She her- 
self allows as much ; I am not giving you a mere man's 
selfish views. Find me a barren woman and you shall 
hear her sorrowful plaint: *'There are four things that 
never have enough : the grave, the barren womb, the 
horse-leech, and the fire that saith not. It is enough !" 
I have heard women wish for nothing in this world — 
excepting to bring forth a child. It is natural to the 
normal-souled. There is a yearning among them 
which indicates the immense joy and satisfaction it 
must be to gain their great end. Try and take away 
the true woman's baby at her breast, and you might 
as well begin by cutting her in two. Now, will you 
produce offspring of questionable shape, with danger 
and difficulty, or will you be happy and smiling from 
beginning to end, your little one drawing upon your 
healthy resources, another to love, tend and live for? 

"For of such is the kingdom of heaven." 



CHAPTER X 
POSTURE AND PREGNANCY 

Reference has been made in an earlier chapter to 
the birth of offspring as it takes place among ani- 
mals; now the fact that animals are four-legged be- 
ingSjWhile women are only two-legged,will account for 
many differences of condition between the two when 
the pregnant state and the event of parturition or giv- 
ing birth are considered. The abdomen of a woman 
is perched on top of two legs, and is suspended rather 
towards the front chiefly by means of an erect back- 
bone; and when she is heavy-laden, as in pregnancy, 
there is all the more pressure on the lower abdomen 
and on the pelvic bones which rest on the legs. 

A four-footed animal has its body slung, as it were, 
upon four posts, the legs. No better arrangement 
could possibly be devised than this. Large or small, 
gravid or not, painful or not, the abdomen swings 
comfortably between the four legs where it is the best 
protected and where it can receive the least pressure 
or injury of any kind. There is no forcing down or 
weight upon the hind legs or pelvic bones. Any 
weight there may be is drawn forwards and down- 
wards, hanging away from any hard bone. And if any- 
thing should happen to be growing in this abdomen, 
such as a foetus or tumor, it will not press against 
injurious projections to cause pain and distress, it will 
hang unaffected by anything that might hurt it. 
Therefore animals do not suffer from frequency of 
passing water during the earlier months of pregnancy, 
neither are they troubled so much with constipation. 

lOI 



102 THE WIFE : HER BOOK 

Varicose veins are practically unknown, for there is 
no pressure to cause them. Such comparisons as 
these cannot fail to be interesting to the reader; it is 
true that in some sense they may be odious, but they 
are of immense importance scientifically, and may 
help a woman to understand her anatomy, and may- 
hap her sufferings. 

Human beings are the most erect of all mammalian 
creatures. Chimpanzees, gorillas, and some other 
monkeys probably come next, while such animals as 
the kangaroo come midway between man and typically 
horizontal four-footed animals like the ox or dog. And 
human beings have to pay for this uprightness. Their 
men even suffer from deformities of the spine, and 
from pressure symptoms to some extent, the latter 
rendering them more liable to constipation and rupture 
of the abdominal walls. Their women suffer from the 
same affections, but even more so, because their pelvis 
is wider than that of man. The hip-bones, before re- 
ferred to when dealing with the anatomy of woman, 
are wider apart than those of men, because the abdo- 
men is required to contain more under certain circum- 
stances. When a woman becomes pregnant, and 
reaches the later months, she wants a wider-boned 
pelvis to support the weight, and she also wants a 
wider pelvic basin and outlet for the child to pass 
through at birth, the man not requiring any such ana- 
tomical necessities. 

Man, having a pelvis smaller than woman's does 
not suffer so much from the effects of the forcing down 
of internal organs upon the floor of the pelvis and 
upon the passages. And the formation of the organs 
of generation render a woman more likely to suffer 
from pressures and weights, for a woman may be said 
to have two passages, while a man has practically 



POSTURE AND PREGNANCY 103 

and comparatively only one. Therefore there is less 
firm support for the weight above in the erect posture 
in women for two reasons. When, one bears in mind 
that not only do women frequently suffer much from 
their pregnant conditions, owing simply to the super- 
incumbent weight, but have also many affections 
which are concerned with womb and generative or- 
gans because of the function of parturition or giving 
birth, which man experiences nothing of and is not 
formed for, one begins to realize some of the funda- 
mental inequalities and disparities that exist betw^een 
the sexes. And women have also troubles of menstru- 
ation, disorders following childbirth, as well as womb 
tumors and cancers to suffer from. 

Hernias, or ruptures, as they are commonly called, 
never occur in animals as they do in human beings, 
because the body pressures are so equable and com- 
paratively light at all points in the former. Their 
abdomen cannot rupture for any ordinary reason ; it 
might through injury it is true. But in the erect 
posture of human beings, the weight of the contents 
of the body is thrown down upon the lower abdomen 
and into the pelvis, causing great strain upon the lower 
abdominal walls, and therefore ruptures are liable to 
occur near the groin or private parts. There could 
be no more interesting examples of the effects of the 
erect posture in human beings than ruptures afford. 

As regards exercise during pregnancy, animals need 
not bother about such matters in the least, even if 
they possessed a brain to do so; they can just go on 
in every way as though they were not pregnant. 
There are no pressures of any kind worth speaking of, 
no swellings of legs even. They have no knowledge 
of their pregnant condition from beginning to end. 
The signs and symptoms of pregnancy in women are 



104 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

most of them due to the pressures of the erect posture ; 
they are therefore most of them absent in animals. 

If animals are watched, and their habits closely- 
observed, it will be seen that the bodies of those preg- 
nant are most carefully and gently used by Nature. 
They are beautifully and safely swung in the best posi- 
tion for any enlargement of internal contents that may 
occur, and whether during walking, running, jumping, 
or lying down, the abdomen is always very well 
guarded and carefully carried. On getting up on its 
legs or on lying down, there is very little disturbing or 
jolting of the body ; all movements involve a comfort- 
able swinging-up or a placing gently down. Even the 
legs are flexed two at a time ; there is never any sudden 
plunging down that might injure. 

How all these conditions better prepare animals for 
bringing forth offspring will now be well imagined. 
Quadrupeds have few or no troubles while carrying a 
foetus, and they are comfortable when the time of their 
delivery arrives. Through plenty of exercise which 
they can naturally obtain, having no bad legs or press- 
ure pains, they have a fine muscular development while 
their powers of expressing their young into the world, 
when the time comes, are naturally quite equal to the 
occasion. They do not require instruments as women 
sometimes do, who are so often defective in womb 
strength and muscular power — unless, perchance, they 
should happen to be domesticated animals — sometimes 
these are abnormal — they do not manifest the same 
halting or tediousness during labor. Nor have former 
disorders made them nervous or interfered with their 
general health. They go though their labor almost as 
though nothing of importance were happening. 

On account of the erect posture, a human bein.g does 
not recover from any disease or affection of the abdo- 



POSTURE AND PREGNANCY 105 

men so well as an animal. The abdomen of the latter 
is most beautifully situated and suspended in case any 
pain or inflammation should arise, while in human be- 
ings the pressure from above will only tend to aggra- 
vate symptoms. Piles in human beings are pushed down 
and strangulated, while if they could ever occur in ani- 
mals, the forward and downward hanging of the abdo- 
men would make for anything but the congestion of 
parts. If any tumor growth should make its appear- 
ance in the body of an animal it is hung forwards and 
downwards with the rest of the abdominal contents, 
while in human beings it would press down and jam 
into the pelvic cavity and into the passages. Suppose 
an animal to have the walls of its abdomen weakened 
for some reason or another, it will not suffer from 
rupture in consequence, in those situations where 
rupture is so common, among human beings, because 
the weight of the abdominal contents is not directed 
towards the .groins or organs of generation, but actu- 
ally away from them, pulling downwards and forwards 
in altogether another and safe direction. 

Women themselves recover from abdominal com- 
plaints peculiar to them more slowly than do animals, 
because of the pressures of the erect posture on the 
pervis and private parts. Bendings or twistings of 
the womb are more likely to be created or made much 
worse when there is a weight above them, but in the 
case of animals the suspension forwards and down- 
wards of the abdomen, far from causing any displace- 
ment, will first tend to prevent any occurring at all ; 
but if such a condition were present, for such a reason 
as accident for instance, then the force of horizontal 
posture would be doing its very best to put matters 
right, encouraging the parts back to their normal con- 
dition again if possible. 



io6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

If the passages of a woman should be at all lax or 
injured in any way, the force of the abdominal con- 
tents above will make matters worse and prevent rapid 
healing or restoration, while similar conditions in ani- 
mals can hardly be met with, so uninfluenced are all 
functions by any abdominal pressures. A torn perine- 
um — that portion of the anatomy between the back 
and front passages — will have a poor chance of healing 
in the erect posture of woman, unless operated upon 
by the doctor, but it will usually heal of itself if it 
occur in animals. A woman's womb is very likely to 
*Mrop'' or come too low down in the abdomen on 
certain occasions, having the weight of the abdominal 
contents bearing down upon it ; this condition could 
only occur in the erect posture ; animals could never 
suffer in the same way^ because their womb is hang- 
ing and pulling forwards and downwards, away from 
the vaginal canal, not into it. 

An animal can get up and walk or run about directly 
after delivery. Women have often wondered why this 
should be. The explanation is that the womb of an 
animal, after giving up its contents, remains comfort- 
ably swung downwards and forwards in the body 
cavity, there resting and contracting down to its proper 
size and recovering from the severe strain and any 
damage it may have sustained while the foetus has 
been developing in it and during its passage into the 
world. The outside parts and passages of an animal 
also rapidly contract and heal, having nothing in the 
way of undue pressure to interfere with them. 

The reader will now better understand why a woman 
must remain in the horizontal posture for some time 
after delivery, some ten days or even more ; she must 
assume this position so that contraction of the womb 



POSTURE AND PREGNANCY 107 

and passages may take place as quickly and thoroughly 
as possible. If she get up too soon, then the erect 
posture will bring the weight of the abdominal con- 
tents down on the top of the still suffering womb, and 
a forcing down upon the passages will take place, 
which will be sure to inflict permanent injury, at a 
time when all the parts concerned are so flabby and 
loose on account of the recent passage of the child 
through them. 

One of the chief causes of a ''falling of the womb," 
so well known and frequently heard of by all women, 
is the erect posture assumed too soon after confine- 
ment. It is so easy to push a womb down after con- 
finement, when the arrangement of parts is such that 
the body is incapable of returning it or holding it up. 
This subject is most important, and the writer begs 
for a thoughtful consideration of it; a ''falling of the 
womb'' is one of the commonest, one of the most 
distressing, one of the most difficult to completely 
cure — and therefore one of the most important com- 
plaints — of any that mothers suflFer from. It will again 
be referred to in a later chapter. 

The reader will now not only understand why it is 
that women have to remain in bed for a time after con- 
finement, and why animals have not — because of the 
diflFerences of position of the womb in the body, and 
the diflFerences of posture naturally assumed — but it 
will be further suggested to her that most abdominal com- 
plaints of women, zvhether having relation to bearing 
children or not, will require the recumbent posture in their 
treatment, to some extent, whatever else may require to be 
done in addition. 

"Consider the young, how they are born; 
God maketh all to serve His purpose." 

—FLETCHER. 



CHAPTER XI 
DRESS DURING PREGNANCY. 

Considering that during the space of some nine 
months the contour of a pregnant woman will neces- 
sarily change very considerably, the question of dress 
must sooner or later engage her attention. Not only 
will her increasing size necessitate the making of such 
alterations as conform to it, but the style had better be 
studied a little if her condition is to excite as little 
attention or curiosity as possible. And it is no use 
believing that people do not see these things. The 
very fact that pregnancy is commonly described as an 
"interesting condition'' shows that it is one which 
other people notice, and often notice very particularly. 
Hence any ''mode" which diminishes the unusual 
or which even prevents the condition of pregnancy 
being seen at all, is one worth cultivating. 

The enlargement during the later months of preg- 
nancy is generally somewhat prominent on account of 
woman's erect posture. Pregnancy is nothing like so 
clearly defined in animals, which do not have any arti- 
ficial covering at all. It is commonly observed among 
women that some show pregnancy very much more 
than others. It is also very strange to see, sometimes, 
a woman who is ultimately delivered of twins not look- 
ing so large as one who gives birth to a single small 
child. Very stout women often betray little signs of 
pregnancy, for the addition does not add very appreci- 

io8 



DRESS DURING PREGNANCY 109 

ably to the size that is already there; while short 
and thin women will usually appear to be very much 
out of shape and awkward in gait. One may further 
remark how often women who are not pregnant pos- 
sess what is commonly called a *'high stomach ;" and 
some very great mistakes have sometimes been made 
in consequence. Occasionally such women are sup- 
posed by others to have been married and pregnant 
when they have been neither; and very often yovmg 
women employed as servants or shop assistants have 
been supposed to be pregnant by their employers, on 
account of a naturally "high stomach" — very unpleas- 
ant suspicions, questionings and accusations resulting 
in not a few instances. 

On the contrary, female employees have been known 
to give birth to children, concealing the circumstances, 
while not a soul had ever noticed such change of con- 
tour as pregnancy generally produces. In these cases, 
however, not only have the young women shown few 
signs naturally, but they have probably bound down 
the enlarging size as much as possible. One can well 
understand that a woman who happened to have large 
hips and a fairly prominent abdomen, when in the ordi- 
nary state, would be likely to show her pregnant con- 
dition very slightly, because of the comparative small- 
ness of the contrast. 

Flatulence sometimes enlarges the abdomen enor- 
mously, so as to stimulate pregnancy. Women with 
very bad teeth, and who suffer from dyspepsia, often 
swell out in this way. 

There is very great difference of opinion expressed 
among women as to how much they should show 
themselves in public during the later months of preg- 
nancy. Some will argue that it should not matter 
to anyone how they appeared before others ; that there 



no THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

is nothin.g to be ashamed of in the appearance of a 
pregnant condition; and they will make a point of just 
going on as though nothing had happened, appearing 
everywhere at any time just as usual. Others will be 
firmly of the opinion that a pregnant woman should 
never be seen, as such, by any outsider whatsoever, 
and they will keep themselves as close indoors as 
possible, only venturing out-of-doors when darkness 
sets in, and adopting all sorts of fantastic garbs in 
order to conceal their condition — garbs, however, 
which often only succeed in attracting more attention 
than ever. 

The best plan to adopt is the happy mean. A 
pregnant woman should not thrust herself forward 
more than she can help. At all risks, however, she 
should study her health first. After finding out a 
routine that best suits her health, she should then 
keep her betraying contour out of view as much as 
she can without putting herself to too great incon- 
venience. She certainly should not be ashamed of her- 
self; at least she has no need to be if she exercise pru- 
dence as to how and when she shall make her appear- 
ance in public. Health first, and other people after- 
wards ; but neither indiflference nor recklessness should 
be shown.. She should not present her form to the 
gaze of everyone as though she were proud of it. 

There is one plan of attempting to conceal preg- 
nancy which is worth referring to at this stage, because 
it IS so common, and so ineflfectual. Indeed, it almost 
seems as though the method itself were a sign of the 
condition. If the reader ever meet a woman carrying 
a small parcel, basket, or handbag in front of her, so 
that it rests just where her ''stomach" projects, then 
it is almost certain that that woman is either in the 
''family way/* or that she is suffering from some 



DRESS DURING PREGNANCY in 

tumor. This method is never successful, and by its 
very strangeness often draws people's particular atten- 
tion to the very part a woman wishes to conceal. The 
ostrich thinks it is hidden when it thrusts its head in 
the sand, and, similarly, some women imagine they 
can hide their bodies behind a little satchel or a bag 
of biscuits. 

Doctors become very accurate in their observation 
of almost everything which concerns people's health, 
and they can generally distinguish pregnancy in a 
woman by either noting her general form in the dis- 
tance, or by observing the peculiar way in which she 
carries herself. Fortunately no one else, not trained 
and so accurately observant, could do the same, or the 
poor self-conscious woman might have some reason 
for remaining indoors even during the earlier months. 
A doctor can distinguish pregnancy from the back of a 
woman as she stands or walks, on account of the alter- 
ation of the curvatures of the spine produced by extra 
weight being temporarily situated in front of the body, 
and also because of an alteration of gait which such 
a weight causes ; not always during the very early 
months can he do so, but generally as early as the 
fifth. But he can hardly distinguish pregnancy from 
a large tumor or from deformity of the spine, by such 
simple means. 

Whether a mere appearance in public, or a kind of 
dress, is decent or not will even very largely depend 
upon the class of society a woman moves in, as well 
as upon any particular ideas she may hold. The 
poorer classes are naturally far more indiflferent to 
outside gaze than the richer. They are not so well 
able to change the form of dress according to their 
enlargement ; and their ideas of propriety are in many 



112 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

respects much less sensitive than those usually held 
in higher classes. 

Dress alterations will suggest themselves to the 
pregnant v^oman. about the fourth or fifth month. The 
w^aist-band may then be taken, off and another one put 
on. Corsets should be v^orn right to the end by those 
w^ho have always been accustomed to them ; indeed, 
for those who have not, they will be found to give very 
great support, especially as the breasts also tend to 
enlarge and alter in consistency, rendering the figure 
not only unclassic but sometimes painfully insupport- 
able. But whatever form of corset is adopted, it 
should be let out freely and as often as it should seem 
necessary. 

As regards outer dress, tea-gowns are the best for 
indoor wear in. the afternoon, while in the morning a 
blouse-bodice, with a waist-belt and hanging ribbons 
in the front, is useful and even becoming. Dressing- 
gowns are not recommended, they do not look well ; 
they too often denote slovenliness and careless habits, 
and once they are begun there is a tendency to wear 
them on all occasions because they cause such little 
trouble. The pregnant woman should not resign her- 
self to her condition as though she were not fit to be 
seen ; she should make the best of herself, and very 
well she may succeed if she wishes. The months are 
long, and a little attention to dress and general appear- 
ance will go far towards keeping the wearer in a cheer- 
ful and contented frame of mind, especially when she 
can also entertain a few friends and look nice in spite 
of herself. 

Out-of-doors one of the best things to wear is a cape 
about twenty inches longf, reaching a few inches below 
the waist. A blouse-bodice, with some pretty arrange- 
ment hanging down the front, will also in this instance 



DRESS DURING PREGNANCY 113 

be found effectual and not unbecoming. An open 
jacket with a full silk blouse-front may be worn for a 
change, and will not look at all amiss. 

Only a few general indications are given about dress 
in this chapter, it being well understood that different 
classes will always fancy different fashions— or indif- 
ferent fashions — even as the case may be. The rich 
may pamper their fancy with inaiumerable creations 
of Worth if they like, while the poor may still be con- 
tent with a market bag. There will be all fancies and 
fashions, changes and exchanges, among all sorts and 
conditions of women, according as they have thoughts, 
tastes and, purses. 

"She's adorned 

Amply that in her husband's eye looks lovely, 
The truest mirror that an honest wife 
Can see her beauty in." 

— TOBIN. 



CHAPTER XII 

MISCARRIAGE 

Most married women have an understanding as to 
what is meant by the word miscarriage : they take the 
word to mean the birth of a foetus before the proper 
time, or before it has grown sufficiently large to live; 
but all are not clear as to the difference between 
abortion and miscarriage, or between both these con- 
ditions and premature labor. Some medical men apply 
the name abortion to the passing away from the womb 
of a foetus before it has reached the fourth month of 
its development, and the name miscarriage to the birth 
of the foetus between the end of the third month and 
the earliest period at which it can come into the world 
alive; while a premature labor is understood by the 
same authorities as one occurring between this last- 
named period and full time. Many women refer to 
either abortion or miscarriage as premature birth, how- 
ever. Now, for all practical and lay purposes abortion 
and miscarriage may be taken to mean the same" thing, 
and as the latter word is certainly the commonest used 
among women it will be adopted in the following 
pages. 

The passing away of an ovum or foetus before it has 
fully developed is extremely common among women 
who become pregnant. One authority considers that 
ninety per cent of married women miscarry once at 

114 



MISCARRIAGE 115 

least in their lifetime. There is said to be one mis- 
carriage to every five full-term deliveries. Mis- 
carriages are much more common in those who have 
already had one or more children than in those 
who are pregnant for the first time. They are also 
com.moner among the upper classes than among the 
lower, probably because of the luxurious and excitable 
kind of life the former lead. The lower classes mis- 
carry more on account of accident or ill-health. 

There are certain warning signs and symptoms that 
the reader should learn, indicating impending mis- 
carriage; she may feel ill and depressed in spirits, 
having also unpleasant sensations about the body and 
loins. A lessening in size of abdomen, together with 
a feeling of a cold mass in the body, indicates the 
probable death of the foetus. A nasty taste in the 
mouth may also be experienced. At what period of 
their pregnancy are women most likely to miscarry? 
During the first three months. At this stage the ovum 
is only loosely attached to the interior of the womb 
and will come away comparatively easy; it lies in a 
softish material which very readily breaks down and 
causes haemorrhage. And during these three months 
the ovum is most likely to break away at a time cor- 
responding to the date of former menstrual periods, 
becausfe there is what may be described as a rush of 
blood to the parts then. The third month is the most 
likely time of all for miscarriage to occur, for then an 
alteration of blood circulation is going on, while the 
afterbirth is also beginning to form. 

Anything, therefore, that causes an extra flow of 
blood to the parts is likely to cause miscarriage. Even 
sexual intercourse may do this, if excessive at about 
the time menstruation would have occurred if no 



ii6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

pregnancy had existed. Therefore wives who wish to 
bear children, should not permit sexual intercourse at 
the time menstruation would have been due — and the 
less the better at any time during the first three 
months. 

The product of a few weeks of pregnancy may dis- 
appear without a wife knowing anything about the 
real nature of it. Many wives miscarry at a very early 
stage and never perceive it as such. They may notice 
a little delay or irregularity of menstruation, or per- 
haps an extra-profuse period, and think no more of it. 
It is therefore quite impossible to determine how many 
miscarriages or abortions actually occur among 
women ; those that are definitely recognized, however, 
seem to take place between the sixth and the fifteenth 
week more frequently than at any other time. It is 
only after the third month that a foetus comes away in 
the same manner that a child does at full term, the 
afterbirth following. Before this time the ovum will 
be mixed up with other material, and it may be washed 
away in a discharge of blood so that the wife cannot 
distinguish anything that she can herself understand 
the meaning of. The doctor can always distinguish 
elements of pregnancy, and by carefully searching and 
cutting open portions with a knife he can find the 
ovum. 

According as pregnancy is advanced, miscarriages 
become more like an ordinary labor. Those occuring 
about the middle months of pregnancy are for some 
reasons more dangerous than if they happened at 
other times ; for there is often greater difficulty in ex- 
pelling the afterbirth. But women should thorough- 
ly understand that all miscarriages are liable to pro- 
duce severe and even dangerous after-effects. It is 
quite a mistake to suppose that they are harmless, and 



MISCARRIAGE 117 

that they may be disregarded. Very often they pro- 
duce even much worse results than even full-term con- 
finements. Any retention of the afterbirth, or a 
portion of it, is especially dangerous, for it may lead 
to blood-poisoning and death. The present writer will 
therefore advise that miscarriages require the skilled 
attention of the doctor even more than full-term con- 
finements. Women have been known who have never 
had any trouble resulting from a good many confine- 
ments, but who have been wrecked altogether by a 
three or four-month miscarriage, never really getting 
over it, and being rendered delicate for the rest of 
their lives. It is those miscarriages which occur in the 
first few weeks, and which have scarcely been noticed, 
that cause some women to .grow equally careless re- 
garding all forms. 

If a woman have had a miscarriage once or twice 
and got over it without any bother, not even sending 
for the doctor, she will perhaps publish the fact to all 
her friends, leading them to believe that they may do 
the same in all cases with impunity. There are 
instances in which a friend will visit a woman who 
has gone to bed w^ith profuse bleeding. The friend 
will say: "Oh, I know what's the matter; it's only 
a 'mis.' You will soon be right again ; you need not 
make a fuss about that ; I have had them, and been on 
my legs again the next day ; you want no doctor." But 
this miscarriage may be quite diflferent from any the 
friend ever had, and may have occurred at quite an- 
other stage of pregnancy, necessitating assistance in 
order to get the afterbirth away. 

The causes of miscarriage are many and diverse, and 
some of them will be explained under three headings. 
Firstly, there are those miscarriages occurring spon- 
taneously, or by themselves^ as it were, Secondly, there 



ii8 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

are accidental instances. And, Thirdly, there are mis- 
carriages or abortions that are artificially produced. 

Spontaneous causes may emanate from either the 
husband, the wife, or the foetus. Old men sometimes 
do not beget living children ; their wives will be liable 
to miscarriages. Very young men or youths create 
similar results often. Dissipated habits are occasion- 
ally found to render an individual incapable of pro- 
ducing offspring. 

The power of sexual union may be possessed per- 
fectly well, and it may even result in impregnation 
of an ovum, but the further development of that ovum 
seems to depend largely upon the constitution or the 
age of the parent. Former venereal diseases — those 
painful diseases of the private parts that are occasion- 
ally contracted during illicit intercourse — commonly 
cause miscarriages, and they may do so many years 
after they have first made themselves manifest. The 
disease syphilis may be especially mentioned in this 
connection. If either husband or wife have had syphi- 
lis before marriage — or even if they have contracted 
the disease during marriage — and this occurs in more 
instances that the reader might imagine — then mis- 
carriage will very likely be the rule afterwards. 

The wife herself may be liable to miscarriage on 
account of habits, being over-indulgent in every- 
thing, leading a luxurious and indolent kind of life. 
Mental shocks and nervous diseases also act as causes. 
Bad news regarding a member of the family, or the 
realization of some serious loss, will act as a cause, 
as will also some very disturbing sight or startling 
sound. Certain women are far more nervous than 
others, and very susceptible to such influences. The 
pain of severe accidents or operations will occasionally 
lead to a miscarriage, even though it should affect 



MISCARRIAGE 119 

other parts of the body besides the region of the 
womb; such a simple thing even as having a tooth 
drawn has been known to be sufficient. 

Some diseases affecting the circulation of the blood 
will act as causes, diseases attacking the heart, liver 
or chest, for instance. Anaemia may also be mentioned 
as a cause ; though it is a fact that women suffering 
from this complaint are not so likely to become preg- 
nant. Severe vomiting has been known to cause mis- 
carriage. 

Poisons in the mother's blood are common and 
important causes. They may be of kinds that are 
taken by the mouth, such as copper, lead, or gases, or 
they may be produced by diseases such as fevers, jaun- 
dice, or Bright's disease. It is a well-known fact that 
female workers in the potteries, who are obliged to 
handle liquids containing lead, very often have mis- 
carriages; and even though they themselves may not 
touch lead they can be affected, or rather their foetus 
can, through their husband being poisoned. There 
are certain trades which are dangerous for the preg- 
nant woman and also to the life of her unborn infant. 
Working in tobacco factories appears to be dangerous, 
for miscarriages seem to be common among women so 
employed. Match factories have also their evil influ- 
ences. Alcohol can hardly be described as a poison, 
though its effects are poisonous when taken in large 
doses, but there can be no doubt that it causes mis- 
carriages in not a few instances. 

Fevers are a common cause, partly on account of 
the high temperature they produce, but also because 
of the poisonous effects they have on the nerves. The 
pregnant woman should keep away from all infectious 
maladies. It is believed that a pregnant woman suffer- 
ing from either small-pox, scarlet fever, measles, or 



I20 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

erysipelas, transmits the same disease to her foetus 
in the womb. And even some authorities state that 
a woman who has once had one of these diseases and 
is at length proof against it, may still convey them 
to the foetus within her, the child showing the effects 
of the disease upon it when born. The pregnant woman 
should therefore never nurse cases of fever. 

It is well known that certain drugs will cause abor- 
tion, but they must act as poisons before they do so, 
and therefore they are extremely dangerous to take. 
The term abortion is, in this instance, used instead 
of miscarriage, for though both words practically 
mean the same thing in the present purpose, the laity 
generally use the word abortion when a miscarriage 
has been produced either by the administration of 
drugs or by means of some instrument used. The 
expression ''procuring abortion,'' is one fairly familiar 
to the reader of criminal records in our daily papers ; 
it denotes an offense that is severely punishable by 
law. It is against the law to administer to oneself or 
to another, or to cause or permit to administer, certain 
drugs for the purpose of procuring abortion, unless it 
can be shown that development towards full term 
would have been dangerous to life, adequate testimony 
being only capable of being made by doctors. 

Not one doctor, but two or more, should settle the 
question whether a woman ought to be allowed to 
proceed any further in her pregnancy. If a doctor 
have a case where it should seem that any further 
advancement in pregnancy would be dangerous, he 
will usually ask another to give an opinion, and if the 
two together decide that an operation should be per- 
formed or that steps should be taken to procure abor- 
tion, then the operation is accordingly advised to the 
patient and her husband. One doctor alone might 



MISCARRIAGE 121 

possibly be accused at some time or other of procur- 
ing an abortion for an insufficient reason, or with 
criminal intent even, therefore another had better be 
present to confirm all the particulars of the case and 
to witness the operation. Sometimes patients will try- 
to persuade their family doctor, who may be also a 
friend of the family, that an abortion is desirable, but 
this doctor will at once protect himself by calling in 
another to consult with him and to see if the operation 
is really necessary. 

Women have often wondered how it is that deaths 
so often occur after an operation has been performed 
for the purpose of procuring abortion, especially as 
they have been constantly informed on good authority 
that the operation is one that is extremely simple and 
easy to perform. They may as well now understand, 
therefore, that when deaths occur they are consequent 
upon carelessness or clumsiness on the part of insuffi- 
ciently learned and unskilled operators. Ordinary 
surgeons and physicians, and the best general prac- 
titioners, can perform the operation with ease and 
safety when it is legally and properly indicated. But 
quacks and unqualified abortionists have no knowledge 
of the anatomy or arrangement of parts, and they are 
likely to use clumsy instruments in an unskillful man- 
ner, without even taking due precautions to insure 
necessary cleanliness. 

The deaths that occur after an operation has been 
performed will very often be found to be due to incom- 
petent performance, by men who have more or less 
failed as ordinary medical practitioners, and who have 
stooped to the practice of procuring illegal abortion 
for high fees. Outcasts of the medical profession — 
those who have had their qualification taken away 
from them for irregular conduct or practice — such 



122 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

are the men who act clumsily and make mistakes; 
some have taken to drink or opium, to the extent that 
their capabilities have become altogether diminished. 

No medical men who have any respect for them- 
selves, who are reliable practitioners, and who have 
good and well-conducted practices in their hands, will 
ever listen to the proposal that a criminal abortion 
should be procured, whether by means of drugs or 
instruments. Women should therefore learn, once for 
all, that the information gleaned from their talkative 
friends to the effect that ^'Doctor So-and-So will prob- 
ably do the operation : I have heard he often does it," 
is generally utterly false. Some women have gone so 
far as to remark that there are "lots of doctors who 
do it." But the reader may place implicit belief in 
my assurance that only quacks and the lowest outcasts 
and dregs of the profession will be found to perform 
this illegal operation, and there are very, very few such 
practitioners, fortunately. One may be found occa- 
sionally, but he is soon discovered and imprisoned. 
Newspapers occasionally report cases of illegally pro- 
cured abortion ; but in proportion to the amount of 
pregnancies that occur in the land, the instances of 
such operations taking place successfully, not being 
found out, are extremely rare. 

Women occasionally get into their heads that certain 
doctors — good and estimable ones in every way — will 
correct irregularities due to pregnancy, by drugs, and 
will even procure abortion by means of instruments 
if paid well and the secret is kept, simply because the 
information has been spread about that they have 
brought on the monthly periods in certain patients 
who have gone to them in stoppages that have been 
due simply to ill-health. A doctor does not always 
tell his patient what he thinks her stoppage is due to. 



MISCARRIAGE 123 

If he sees signs of anaemia or chest trouble he will give 
medicine, and thus restore the regularity of the month- 
lies. From such patients — who may also have been 
married — false impressions have been obtained by 
friends both of the doctor's intentions and his methods 
of practice. It is therefore not always invariably 
creditable for a doctor to bring on the monthly periods 
in those who suffer from general illness ; he may win a 
dangerous notoriety for doing the same for illegal pur- 
poses in the case of those who are pregnant and wish 
to be otherwise. 

Married women have been known to tell all sorts of 
stories to their doctor, in order that he may treat 
them with a view to an abortion taking place. Some- 
times husbands will also visit the doctor complaining 
of the size of their families and of the inconvenience 
that any more children would create, and they will 
even offer blank checks or large sums of money to 
get the deed done. Such people have either been 
seriously misinformed, or their supposition has run 
riot and made them bold in their ignorance. Ordi- 
nary medical men v/ill hear nothing of reasons which 
are not legitimate; they care not for mon^y when 
they know their reputation might be shattered, and 
that a term of penal servitude awaits the criminal 
abortion-monger. Therefore the following advice is 
given to all wives — wives of every class — that preg- 
nancy should be accepted for all that may possibly 
turn out, unless there is any possibility of a life being lost 
through its furtherance. They should abandon any 
idea of criminal abortion being open to them, for all 
the reasons named, if not for the simple and single 
one that the procedure is criminal. 

Sometimes the severest punishment has been unex- 
pectedly meted out to wives who have tried the effects 



124 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

of strong drugs. The present writer was once called 
to the case of a woman who had taken some powerful 
decoction. She lay unconscious for many hours, be- 
tween life and death, suffering agonies; and then the 
abortion did not take place ! When the full time came 
there were twins, and both were cripples. They lived 
to cause the mother the greatest trouble and mental 
anguish — for she felt certain that the drug taken had 
done it all. 

Another very importanit warning must be given. 
Let all married women turn away from those adver- 
tisements which offer pills and other forms of medi- 
cine for sale, that are said to correct irregularities, 
**from whatever cause arising.'' They are the most 
infamous and fraudulent rascals on the face of the 
earth who traffic in these things, not only because 
they sell commodities which are not of the slightest 
use, but because they are offering them for an illegal 
purpose. Married women are induced to buy pills 
and medicines of this class, thinking that they may 
be relieved of an undesirable condition, and they pay 
highly for them, first for the ordinary, then for the 
''strong," and at last for the "very strong,'' while the 
result is nothing, or it may be poisonous symptoms 
and loss of money. Now and again an abortion will 
follow the taking of these medicines; but so it might 
if nothing had been taken. It is from such instances 
that the vendors obtain their few valuable testimonr 
ials. 

The testimonials often constitute the greater part 
of the fraud. They are usually either false or they 
do not exist at all. Moreover, this further important 
fact may well be pointed out: no purchasers are able 
either to punish or even to dictate to the vendor at all. 
If they find they have been swindled they cannot tell 



MISCARRIAGE 125 

anyone so — they must not give themselves away. Tes- 
timonials are rarely asked for, but if they ever are, 
the vendors could calmly refuse to show^ any. No 
woman dare prosecute. 

Sometimes women will fail to get the desired result 
through one advertisement, and will try others which 
hold out better promises, such as : "Ours is the only 
certain remedy." But all are alike; all represent the 
deepest villainy and criminal intent. Women should 
henceforth make up their minds that nothing can be 
done to procure abortion which is at all safe and sat- 
isfactory, even though they might be inclined to per- 
ceive nothing criminal in the intent. They should go 
on in their pregnancy; and they may proceed to full 
time or to a miscarriage having a natural causation; 
but to hunt about for remedies is quite useless, very 
expensive, and often disastrous. Legitimate abortion 
may be procured, but only under the conditions named in 
a former paragraph, and always under the eyes of two 
doctors, not one. 

Miscarriages sometimes take place on account of 
inflammation of the womb, or through irritation of the 
bladder or rectum. Loss of blood, tumors, or dis- 
placements may also act as causes. With regard to 
the last of these it may be repeated that a womb may 
be bent backwards at the time conception takes place. 
If the enlarging foetus itself, or the doctor, does not 
correct this displacement, the womb, with its contents, 
will occupy a cramped position within the pelvis, and 
will cause pressure and inflammation, which must 
ultimately either result in spontaneous abortion or re- 
quire the instrumentally and legitimately induced 
form. 

The foetus itself may be the means of bringing a 
miscarriage, through its death, for instance. A dead 



126 THE WIFE : HER BOOK 

foetus naturally tends to come away, though now and 
again it may remain within the womb for a consider- 
able time. The afterbirth may also become diseased, 
and cause internal bleeding. The collection of blood 
thus produced in the womb acts as a foreign body and 
causes it to contract and expel its contents. Or the 
cord which connects the foetus with the afterbirth 
may become knotted or twisted, stopping the circula- 
tion between the two, a miscarriage ultimately result- 
ing. 

Among the accidental causes of miscarriage may 
be mentioned falls or blows. These act in two ways; 
either they injure the organs of the mother or they 
affect chiefly the child in the womb. The latter, how- 
ever, very rarely happens. It is curious to note that 
sometimes the slightest accident to the mother will 
cause a miscarriage, while in other cases the very 
severest will not have the same effect. Legs have 
been amputated and no miscarriage has followed. Un- 
married women, wishing to have an abortion have 
been known to throw themselves down-stairs, half- 
killing themselves, without producing any effect upon 
their pregnant condition. 

What are the signs and symptoms of miscarriage if 
nothing has been experienced as a warning? How 
may a woman know whether she is likely to miscarry? 
There is an important sign, and also an important 
symptom, for the reader to study carefully. The 
former is haemorrhage, and the latter pain. Accord- 
ing as either of these two are present or not, or ac- 
cording as they are closely associated with one an- 
other, so will the result be determined. There may, 
however, be certain symptoms precede these, less im- 
portant and less to be relied upon, but which are 
worth just mentioning, such as shivering, and even 



MISCARRIAGE 127 

nausea or vomiting; but .generally these are not no- 
ticed at all. 

Haemorrhage is nearly always the first thing noticed. 
The womb begins to contract when a miscarriage 
threatens, in order to expel its contents. The slight- 
est detachment of the ovum in the womb causes bleed- 
ing. As time goes on the haemorrhage increases, and 
the contractions of the womb soon come to be per- 
ceived as pain. Very often, however, bleeding occurs 
for several weeks before any pain is felt, and in such 
cases the patient may be very considerably reduced 
in general health, if not also weakened by the loss. 
The quantity of blood discharged will vary very much 
in different cases. Some may only lose a little, while 
others may be subject even to large gushes or ^'flood- 
ings." The commonest form of haemorrhage is the 
slight but continuous one. 

If the foetus is only a week or two old the pain felt 
will be very little more than that experienced by many 
during menstruation ; but in the later months a mis- 
carriage more resembles a labor at full term in every 
respect. Miscarriage in late pregnancy is therefore 
not so often preceded by haemorrhage as that in the 
earlier months. The pains are intermittent, more 
after the type of those of full-term labor. 

A miscarriage is said to be incomplete when some- 
thing is left behind. This form is distinguished by 
the persistence of the haemorrhage after the expulsion 
of the foetus has taken place. The latter may be ex- 
pelled, while the membranes and placenta remain be- 
hind, the mouth of the womb partly closing again to 
retain them. After a few hours, or even, it may be 
days, the remainder may be expelled by further con- 
tractions of the womb ; but such portions have been 
known to remain in the womb several weeks, and even 



128 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

some months, before being got rid of. Whenever any- 
thing is left behind there is always a risk of decom- 
position taking place, which will create a most offen- 
sive discharge and act as a poison. The reader will 
at once see the necessity for having professional ad- 
vice under these circumstances. The risk of leaving 
things to take their course is very great indeed. Puer- 
peral or child-bed fever, blood-poisoning and death 
itself may supervene when decomposition of retained 
portions has taken place. 

In addition to incomplete forms of miscarriage, 
there may be men.tioned the so-called threatened and 
inevitable ones. Where the signs or symptoms only 
amount to a threat, the haemorrhage and pain do not 
occur at the same time ; and should the quantity of 
blood be very slight, then the miscarriage is even less 
likely to occur. There are other signs, which only 
doctors can observe, to make sure what is about to 
take place ; the reader could neither recognize nor un- 
derstand them, therefore it is not necessary to men- 
tion them. 

Miscarriages that are called inevitable are those in 
which haemorrhage and pain have occurred at one 
and the same time. A doctor further finding out on 
examination that the womb is slightly open, will now 
be absolutely certain that a miscarriage will take 
place. If the "waters are broken," then the ultimate 
issue is quite certain. The haemorrhage that occurs 
often kills the foetus, if it has not died before. The 
necessity for distinguishing whether certain symp- 
toms indicate a threatened miscarriage or an inevita- 
ble will be seen when treatment is considered ; if doc- 
tors have to deal with a threatened form, they try 
to avert the catastrophe, but if it be inevitable, they 
adopt measures to hasten the process. 



MISCARRIAGE 129 

There is still another form of miscarriage to be 
named: the "missed'' one. When a woman reaches 
the third or fourth month, and a miscarriage threat- 
ens, but does not occur, though the foetus dies, then 
it will occasionally shrink and remain in the womb, 
causing little trouble, to be expelled at the seventh 
or eighth month. It becomes dry and mummified. 
The abortion therefore misses. 

It is not to be wondered at that women fail to make 
out what is the matter with them when such symp- 
toms occur, if they have not had a doctor. Menstrua- 
tion having stopped, and all the signs and symptoms 
of pregnancy being present — a diminution in size and 
perhaps a discharge being next observed — and yet no 
appearance of anything in the shape of a foetus to be 
seen! Such occurrences would easily mystify anyone 
but a medical man. 

Nurses should always be instructed that everything 
passed should be kept for the doctor's inspection. It 
is most important that this should be done. It is true 
that the doctor can find out everything about a 
woman, even though every portion of embryo, clot, 
or afterbirth have been thrown away, but not without 
subjecting his patient to such examinations and in- 
terrogations as will cause trouble to him and a good 
deal of discomfort to her also. But when he sees for 
himself he knows quickly and definitely what it is 
that has come away, and what has been left behind, 
and he promptly takes steps accordingly; moreover, 
so much time is saved by this plan of keeping every- 
thing for inspection. 

The reader cannot have it repeated too often that 
miscarriages are often very much worse than full-time 
confinements. The former may appear to be, or may 
be understood to be, trifling affairs — and very often 



130 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

they are — but they are so frequently the beginning of 
a life of general bad health that special warning is re- 
quisite. Any blood-poisoning or severe haemorrhage 
may debilitate the system for the rest of a woman's 
days, if they do not end fatally. Disease of the 
womb or ovaries is also liable to occur afterwards. 

It will now be better understood why criminal abor- 
tion is often a dangerous condition to bring about. 
Ordinary miscarriages are sometimes very serious, 
and may even be fatal ; therefore those induced by 
the use of drugs or instruments might be still more 
likely to be so, for very often the general health of 
those who are pregnant, and do not desire to remain 
so, is already extremely undermined through worry 
and excitement, and perhaps also poison, rendering 
them unfit to undergo any operation whatsoever. 

In advising women what to do when they suspect 
that either a miscarriage has occurred or that it is 
about to occur, the present writer would particularly 
point out the wisdom of sending for a doctor in time. 
If there has been any distinct evidence that pregnancy 
has been suspected, and if haemorrhage occur which is 
not like that belonging to ordinary menstruation — 
more especially if this should keep going on longer 
than an ordinary menstrual discharge should do — 
then the doctor should be sent for. It is no use ex- 
pecting and hoping, while all the time the strength is 
being drained away. Temporizing under such cir- 
cumstances is not only dangerous for a woman but 
even unfair to a doctor, for the latter hopes to find the 
advantage of a fair amount of strength in his patient, 
not the exhaustion resulting from practically two ill- 
nesses together. 

Some women think that womb haemorrhages should 
be taken very little notice of, unless they be really 



MISCARRIAGE 131 

severe ; they seem to imagine that their sex is made for 
a good deal of this sort of thing. They appear to get 
so used to it that a constant flow over some weeks 
does not in the least alarm them ; such prolonged flows 
are often very dangerous, however, resulting in 
tedious recoveries in not a few instances. 

The best procedure for a woman herself to adopt, 
before a doctor is sent for, is to rest on. her back in 
bed, if she have undue haemorrhage during the earlier 
months of pregnancy. Let her drink nothing hot, take 
low diet, abstain from alcoholic drinks, and the com- 
plete rest may stop the flow. She will recollect, from 
the explanations given of the signs and symptoms of 
miscarriage, that haemorrhage alone will not deter- 
mine that the complete event is sure to take place, but 
that haemorrhage and sharp pains together are indica- 
tive. Every excitement should be avoided at the 
same time, and purgation or syringing should be 
avoided. Women who show a tendency to miscarry 
should sleep apart from their husbands for the first 
three or four months of pregnancy, as sexual excite- 
ment acts as a causation. Those who miscarry re- 
peatedly, and who wish to bear a living child, should 
take the advice of their doctor, because there are so 
many points to be taken into account respecting fam- 
ily history, constitution, health of husband, etc., and 
so many details regarding the proper treatment to be 
adopted in individual cases, that general instructions 
for all cases are impossible; every case should be 
treated entirely according as its peculiarities dictate. 

Continued haemorrhage after a foetus has been ex- 
pelled is always a serious matter; it generally signifies 
that there has been something left behind. If a 
woman should have been so ill advised as to go 
through a miscarriage without having the advice of a 



132 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

doctor, and if she find that haemorrhage continues af- 
ter she thinks everything has come away, she should 
then without fail place her case in his hands. If the 
haemorrhage should not be such as to make a woman 
who has neglected to send for a doctor at first, and 
who has trusted to Nature as far as the passage of 
the embryo stage, suspicious that matters are not as 
they should be, she should still more certainly send 
for advice if shivering, feverishness, or much pain be 
felt as well. The smallest piece of afterbirth or mem- 
brane left behind is enough to cause trouble; it is 
most important to remember this ; it may cause in- 
flammation or turn into a polypus or soft tumor. 

When anything remains behind after a miscarriage 
the doctor will then take it away, either by means of 
his fingers or by instruments. He may even find it 
necessary to scrape the inside of the womb, in order 
to get away small pieces that have grown to the side. 
It may also be advisable to wash out the womb with 
antiseptic and purifying solutions. 

After a miscarriage, no matter whether it may ap- 
pear severe or not, or whether it have occurred dur- 
ing the earlier months of pregnancy or not, a woman 
should remain in bed until the colored discharge has 
almost entirely ceased. She should be kept in bed for 
six days at least, in the most favorable case in which 
the embryo has only been very small, if she desires to 
recover quickly and completely without complica- 
tions arising or following in the near or distant fu- 
ture. And this period of rest may be extended as 
long as more serious symptoms indicate. The pa- 
tient would also do well to keep quiet for three weeks 
after getting up again, just as she would after an 
ordinary confinement. Nay, more, the present writer 
considers that the average case of miscarriage is all 



MISCARRIAGE 133 

the better and safer treated, as far as rest and recum- 
bency go, exactly as a full-term confinement would be. 
Those having previously miscarried should learn 
the probable or actual cause, and take steps to avoid 
a similar occurrence in future; ill-health should be 
corrected; rest should be taken in the case of those 
who have previously miscarried on account of over- 
exertion; the excitable should cultivate quiet habits 
and be medically treated for "nerves." The present 
writer has known cases of repeated miscarriage to be 
followed by fruitful issue, but only after complete ab- 
stinence from and avoidance of all influences likely 
to provoke the event, kept up during the whole nine 
months, walking even having been forbidden — the 
persevering one being taken out daily in a rolling 
chair in some instances. 

"The great Creator wills him wise 
But oft provoketh many sighs." 

—GIBSON. 



CHAPTER XIII 

DOCTORS, MIDWIVES AND NURSES 

The doctor engaged beforehand, or called in to at- 
tend a lying-in woman, had better not be a stranger 
to her. He should not see his patient for the first 
time at the bedside, when she is in labor, but should 
have become acquainted with her on some previous 
occasion. It is true that most pregnant women have 
at least one interview with their doctor before con- 
finement, but very often only for a minute or so, and 
they are afterwards practically as strange as ever. 
Few things help so much in a confinement as a com- 
fortable and complete understanding between doctor 
and patient ; even the ''pains" themselves are often 
dependent upon this, as we have already suggested in 
a previous chapter. There have been special reasons 
given in Chapter VIII. why doctor and pregnant pa- 
tient should have become acquainted to some extent, 
and not the least of these is this, that the patient may 
not be over-sensitive when her confinement takes 
place. The pains will be halting in character, the 
labor being hindered considerably, if an unpleasant 
feeling of strangeness exist between the two. 

Now, there are doctors and doctors ; there are some 
who attend a large number of confinemen.t cases, while 
others do not care to attend any at all if they can help 
it. Most general practitioners, who treat all classes 
of cases, are obliged to include midwifery, simply be- 
cause they are family doctors. Many people would 
not like to have two local doctors attending in the 
same house, one for ordinary illnesses and the doctor 
for confinements. The typical family doctor is usually 

134 



DOCTORS, MIDWIVES, AND NURSES 135 

of mature years and married. Sometimes, however, 
we may find him a single man, much esteemed per- 
haps, but not desired for attendance at the confine- 
ments of the mother, for her own reasons; so that 
another doctor may have to be engaged. The reader 
should remember, however, that whether he be sin- 
gle or married, every doctor has gone through the 
same initial course of training. The average single 
doctor is just as good as a married one, and may even 
be sometimes better, when he have passed his exami- 
nation and also have had much experience. It is 
quite a mistake to suppose that single men have much 
less knowledge concerning women and their illnesses 
than married ones. There are some single men who 
are eminent in this department, while many married 
ones merely know what all are obliged to learn at 
first, but not much more. 

Everyone can well understand that women might 
in many instances prefer to be attended by a married 
doctor. They might be inclined to look upon him 
as being the more suitable because he has himself had 
a married and family experience. He has a wife of 
his own, and can, therefore, all the better understand 
and sympathize. There are men and men, doctors 
and doctors, husbands and husbands, wives and wives. 
There are all sides of all questions. Not a few wives 
prefer a single man to attend them in confinement ; and 
they have done so after having had one who came as 
a substitute, his married partner, who had been enr 
gaged to attend, having been unable to come. Nay, 
even more, they have been known to send for the 
same man on subsequent occasions having found him 
agreeable, most attentive, skilful, patient, gentle, and 
in every way satisfactory. Again, single men, it must 
be remembered, may not object to being called up at 



136 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

night, and at other inconvenient times, so much as 
married ones, and still more is this likely to be the 
case when they are young. The single doctor should 
not be despised. 

Many doctors attend patients in confinement with- 
out the latter knowing in the least whether their at- 
tendant is married or not. Such instances may be 
frequently found in large towns. Some single doc- 
tors have immense practices, and attend a large num- 
ber of confinements, while not half of their patients 
know or care whether they are single or no. They 
may be found quite satisfactory, and that is enough. 

There is also the question of age. Some like el- 
derly doctors, thinking they know more ; while others 
prefer younger ones, believing that their knowledge is 
more up-to-date and their methods more highly 
trained. 

As a family attendant, a good doctor, well recom- 
mended by near and personal friends who speak from 
experience, moreover a married one, is perhaps the best 
to engage from all poin.ts of view. There may be 
symptoms or circumstances before, during, or after 
the confinement which a woman would more freely 
communicate to a married doctor than she would to 
one whom she knew was single ; some unusual symp- 
toms of her case might possibly be better and more 
fully understood by the former. 

Some wives will wish to engage a midwife instead 
of a doctor, to attend them in confinement, and they 
will give their friends two reasons usually, or one of 
two. Either they will prefer a woman to a man, 
naturally, or they will be able to obtain the services 
of the former for less money. I shall not advise any 
woman off-hand whom to engage, for I could not pre- 
tend to know either the depths of her feelings or her 



DOCTORS, MIDWIVES, AND NURSES 137 

purse, such being private property. All people are, 
to some extent, entitled to their own ideas regarding 
who shall have the handling of their most private 
possessions. 

But supposing a woman would rather have a mid- 
wife to attend her, for many reasons — for her own rea- 
sons — what kind of a midwife shall she look for? 
There are midwives and midwives — of the old school 
and the new — some perfect, others questionable — 
drunken and sober, soiled and clean, pleasant and ob- 
jectionable, some helpful, others dangerous, some 
false, some true. 

There are certificated midwives practising to-day 
of the old school, who have managed to obtain their 
certificates through agents of influence, who have 
testified to the great ability and spotless character 
they have displayed for a number of years; many of 
these have deserved favorable recognition, but I re- 
gret to say some have not. And there are those of 
the new school, who have more recently undergone a 
thorough training at some recognized maternity in- 
stitution ; these undoubtedly make the best midwives, 
for obvious reasons, provided they have also had a 
good deal of experience in private practice. I would 
recommend one who is at any rate past thirty years 
of age, and who has been married, just as I would 
recommend a married doctor in preference to a single 
one, if I were offering a hint to my best friend. 

A wife had better make careful terms with any mid- 
wife she engages, and have a distinct understanding 
with her as to what kind of services she is to render. 
Some midwives are so busy that they have hardly 
time to do fair duty all around, rushing from house to 
house, just touching-up here and there, and doing 
nothing quietly or thoroughly. A poor woman in 



138 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

agonies in bed is hardly in a fit condition to argue 
with a midwife, who is telling her that she has two 
other cases going on which are just as important. The 
one sufferer naturally sympathizes with the others, 
and submits kindly to what help is afforded her. 
Wives should therefore have a distinct understanding 
on engaging a midwife that there shall be no neglect 
on account of other cases. 

But here, again, the thought crosses my mind — and 
I have hesitated to refer to it before — that every 
woman would be better advised to have a doctor and 
a lying-in nurse in preference to a midwife alone. And 
I recommend this well knowing that many doctors 
feel they are better without confinement cases, inas- 
much as the work is not the most desirable at the 
price ; a lying-in woman is safer and more comfortably 
looked after by a doctor and lying-in nurse than if 
she were merely casually visited by a midwife only. 
There can be no question about this. And what if it 
costs a few dollars more ? It appears to me to be 
worth it. The average doctor is quite content to let 
midwives get as much work as ever they can — if they 
are good at their work. Witnessing as I do the man- 
ner in which various systems operate, and seeing peo- 
ple at their work ; visiting mothers who have had 
midwives, and hearing their accounts, I am bound to 
give my opinion that, if the extra few dollars can be 
afforded, a doctor and an all-time nurse are the bet- 
ter to employ. 

If a woman can afford a good and reliable midwife, 
and an all-time neighbor or nurse to attend her, I 
could not advise anything better, provided the labor pass 
off without eomplicotions, as it usually does, 

A good midwife should know exactly when to send 
for a doctor, in case of difficulties being encountered. 



DOCTORS, MIDWIVES, AND NURSES 139 

But I am sorry to have to record that many midwives, 
who have in the first place persuaded their patients to 
engage them in preference to a doctor, defer sending 
for the latter when difficulty is found, hoping that 
things may come right by waiting, not wishing to 
show that they are themselves hardly competent to 
meet all contingencies. Thus poor patients have been 
exposed to the risk of losing their lives. 

Many midwives endeavor to persuade wives that a 
doctor is quite unnecessary. And this persuasion will 
even extend to a running-down of a doctor. Nay, 
more, I strongly advise that no wife should engage a 
doctor and a midwife to act as nurse, for the latter 
will be likely to try at every turn to prove how able 
she is — and might even soon make attempts to demon- 
strate how incompetent the doctor is. I have known 
certificated midwives to try and upset patients in or- 
der to get the attending medical man blamed — so that 
more value might be placed upon the midwife-nurse. 

I will tell you more. I had occasion to advise in 
the case of a doctor who complained of carelessness 
and failure to perform her duty on the part of a mid- 
wife, who had been engaged as midwife-nurse to one 
of his lying-in cases. I made full investigation into 
the facts of the case, and found that this midwife had 
endeavored to persuade the patient to engage her as 
against the doctor, promising that if she required a 
doctor at the time another one could be obtained by 
her for much less money. This midwife wished to 
get the fee for the case if it should turn out a simple 
one, but would send for a doctor if there were com- 
plications, inducing this doctor to accept a lower fee 
than one would require if properly engaged before- 
hand. Failing to persuade the wife to agree to this 
proposition, she offered to attend as nurse under the 



I40 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

doctor. When the confinement took place this crimi- 
nal woman neglected the patient and blamed the doc- 
tor for not treating her properly. It so happened that 
the doctor on whose behalf the midwife was working 
was himself a local inspector of midwives — therefore 
due report upon the conduct of this midwife resulted 
in no penalty being inflicted. 

Doctors should neither recommend particular mid- 
wives, nor midwives recommend particular doctors. 
Patients should make their own choice, if they know 
any doctors at all. But doctors should always be in 
a position to recommend good nurses for their cases. 

If a wife wish to engage a doctor, she should not 
be diverted from her intentions by the promise of 
some canvassing midwife that if anything should go 
wrong she will send for a doctor at once, for such a 
midwife might perhaps wait so long as to endanger 
life. Again, some midwives and nurses make happy 
little arrangements with certain medical men, that the 
latter will pay over to them, a part of the doctor's 
fee, if the baby should be born before the doctor ar- 
rives. Such arrangements lead to undue waiting on 
the part of the midwife or nurse — perhaps so long as 
to make it dangerous for the patient. The doctor 
may not mind sacrificing a small amount in these 
cases in which he loses no time himself. 

No midwife or nurse should be engaged who has 
not been honestly recommended by friends who have 
been witness to their work on previous occasions, or 
who have themselves benefited from their assistance. 

Midwives who pretend to know very much are often 
a danger, and those who advise on ailments outside 
of pure and simple midwifery practice are charlatans. 
A midwife was once known to have treated the elder 
child of one of her patients for a bruise, as she 



DOCTORS, MIDWIVES, AND NURSES 141 

thought, which was really erysipelas, an infectious 
disease which her lying-in patient might have con- 
tracted. 

The quietest nurse is the best, provided she is satis- 
factory in the performance of all her duties. A very 
talkative one is a nuisance to both doctor and patient. 
One who will do as she is told by the doctor, and at- 
tend to her patient kindly, diligently, quietly, and sen- 
sibly, is quite invaluable, and rather rare to find. The 
lying-in nurse is almost proverbially loquacious and 
fussy, knowing far too much in her own estimation — 
even given to dictating to the doctor sometimes. Not 
that the doctor imagines she knows such an extra- 
ordinary amount; he is often inclined to give way to 
her, in order to be talked of as '*a nice gentleman'' 
rather than be dubbed "an unpleasant kind of man'' 
— and the hard-worked and poorly-paid practitioner is 
only human after all; he is obliged to think of these 
things. 

A young nurse is often better than an old one, as 
wise as the latter may think herself to be. Wisdom is 
not required in a nurse, only common and experienced 
sense is necessary; the doctor is there to show wis- 
dom, and give particular directions every time he 
visits; the nurse should apply that wisdom and do as 
she is told. A young, dutiful, active, obedient, and 
sensible nurse is infinitely better than an old, shaky, 
stumbling irritable, and perverse creature, who thinks 
she knows everything, and sometimes feels inclined 
to "punish" the patient and doctor too if things do 
not please her. 

"The reason firm, the temperate will, 
Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill; 
A perfect Woman, nobly planned, 
To warn, to comfort, and command." 

—WORDSWORTH. 



CHAPTER XIV 

LABOR EXPLAINED 

Pregnancy proceeds over so many months, until 
such time as the foetus is developed sufficiently to be 
born and to live and promise favorably for the future : 
it should not be delivered before the right time if it is 
to develop into a good specimen of humanity. There 
is a right period for it to make its appearance in the 
world ; and that is after growing for between 270 and 
280 days. A very much less period than this would 
be abnormal, while the child would probably be un- 
dersized and not so likely to live ; again, if a confine- 
ment took place much over the right time it would be 
likely to give trouble or cause danger to the mother, 
for the child might then be too large a one. Some 
women are said to have given birth to a child after 
290 days, and there are instances in which such a child 
has weighed upwards of 12 lbs. Quite fully devel- 
oped children at a year old may sometimes be seen 
who were born after 255 to 260 days' development, 
however. There is no really hard and fast number of 
days to be given ; indeed, it is quite possible for some 
children born after eight months of pregnancy to be 
larger than others born after nine months. A good 
deal, however, depends upon circumstances, and we 
can only give the approximate or average length of 
time, weight, or size, when either referring to a moth- 
er's period of gestation or to her child's development. 

142 



LABOR EXPLAINED 143 

Let us look a moment at what the function of labor 
really is, roughly. There is something that grows 
within the womb and develops gradually, from a 
minute speck, until in time it assumes definite and 
perfect form, ready to be born. Between the time 
that fertilization of the woman's ovum takes place, and 
the first cry that the child makes in this world, some 
27s days, a human being has been developing, imag- 
ing, and perfecting. Its advent into the world takes 
place after the bursting of the shell, as it were ; when 
a hen sits on its eggs the contents of those eggs grad- 
ually change until a chick is formed, which, after a 
certain time, bursts the shell and comes out; so the 
human foetus grows within^ and must in time be 
forced forth to the exterior — to the world. And it 
does so by being expelled out by muscular contrac- 
tion. It must be remembered that the womb is an 
organ of the body which is endowed with very great 
force of contraction and expulsion. It grows larger 
and stronger during the months of pregnancy, for it 
has to cover, protect, and make a shell, as it were, for 
the foetus, which it is to force forth into the world 
after the latter has developed to the proper size. 

The very best illustration that could be given of 
the way in which a child is forced out from the w^omb 
is that provided by the back passage or rectum, when 
it bears down and forces out its contents in an ordi- 
nary emptying of the bowels. The action is really 
remarkably similar, and affords a very good illustra- 
tion, though the comparison is not quite pleasant to 
contemplate perhaps : but inasmuch as some women 
imagine that a child comes into the world through a 
huge cleft formed just below the navel, a simply ex- 
pressed explanation and comparison may well be 
given in these pages. The child is forced through 



144 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

the front passage, the vagina, by the contraction of 
the womb, after the neck of the womb has opened 
sufficiently to allow it to come out. The contractions 
cannot force it out quickly, because the passage is 
small and tight; the womb can only do its work by 
degrees. It keeps on contracting intermittently, rest- 
ing a while and then returning to work again ; harder 
and harder its efforts grow, and further and further 
the child is forced down, through the passage that is 
thus gradually opened up. Nothing is done in a 
hurry, or rupture of the mother's parts would certain- 
ly take place. If the womb were to contract very vio- 
lently, while the passage of exit were either tightly 
closed or insufficiently yielding to the pressure, it 
would burst. There must be a road made for the con- 
tents of the womb to pass along, and time must be 
required for its proper making. The passage must 
be gradually softened and loosened, so that the forc- 
ing of the womb shall drive the child's head along 
without injury either to mother or child. If the head 
should fit tightly and not move any further for a few 
moments, it will soon afterwards continue its journey, 
when the parts have yielded and dilated to the pres- 
sure. Time is thus absolutely necessary. 

The birth of a child indeed involves some of the 
most wonderful processes of Nature. For the per- 
petuation of species it was found necessary that the 
young one should be developed altogether within its 
mother, and that it should be brought forth into the 
world in some satisfactory way, without injury to the 
mother or itself, and the great Creator devised the 
manner in which this difficult and dangerous work 
should be accomplished. Soon after giving birth, 
moreover, the mother must of course be restored as 
before, as though nothing had happened; she should 



LABOR EXPLAINED 145 

not die from the effects; her womb, now emptied, 
must contract and diminish down to its former size, 
and so must also the passage of exit. Outside parts 
that have been, bruised or even torn ought soon to 
shrink to normal dimensions, and heal, all swelling 
and tenderness rapidly going away. In a few weeks 
it is necessary for all to be restored again, just as be- 
fore — practically. So has the great Ruler ordained. 

There are a few points about the contraction of the 
womb which may be mentioned at this stage. This 
remarkable power, as well as certain other auxiliary 
ones, is interesting, and an understanding of it will 
help a wife to solve several puzzling problems that 
may occur to her respecting childbirth. The thought- 
ful reader should grasp the simple fact that it is a con- 
traction and forcing down of the womb that mainly 
brings the child into the world, and that there are 
usually other forces to help her. A womb itself may 
sometimes fail to do its work, while other forces will 
be active ; again, on the other hand, the womb, though 
laboring strongly, may not be helped at all by any 
other forces. Sometimes the '*pains," as the contrac- 
tions of the womb during labor are called, are ob- 
served to be absent, the other muscular forces of the 
abdominal walls acting alone. Now, if they do act 
alone, they will energize to no good purpose. A child 
cannot be born in a natural manner without womb 
contractions ; but it can be born without any auxiliary 
muscular force acting outside — as when the abdominal 
muscles are paralyzed — provided the womb has suffi- 
cient power. In other words, the contraction of the 
womb itself is the essential power in labor, and any 
other muscular force acts only subsidiarily, being ex- 
tremely useful if it is nothing like so important. 

Another interesting point about the ''pains" is this ; 



146 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

they will occur quite independently of the will of the 
woman suffering them. They will go on even when 
she is unconscious. A conscious woman can readily 
exercise a certain power over them, however, 
through her sympathetic nervous system, as is proved 
by the fact that they will often cease on the arrival 
of a doctor. The '*pains" of labor may stop for a 
while, but they will return again soon, in spite of 
everything, unless the womb should gradually lose 
its power altogether. 

Some women are much more sensitive than others. 
There are patients who will exhibit no pains at all 
while the doctor is present, and he is obliged to go 
into the next room until the child is born. Such pa- 
tients are, however, generally observed to be of a 
highly sensitive and nervous disposition in the ordi- 
nary way, and during other illnesses. But on the 
other hand, one meets with lying-in women who do 
not display the slightest feeling, one way or another, 
regarding the presence of a doctor, and just *'pain' 
away as though no one were present. Doctors who 
observe very great sensitiveness of this kind will 
sometimes administer a draught to counteract it. 
Even a small glass of brandy has been known to dis- 
pel a certain amount of nervousness, not that this is 
at all recommended for the purpose. It is better for 
a woman so afflicted, to try and conquer her feelings. 
She should endeavor to get used to her doctor, and 
make up her mind to go on just as though he were 
not present; she should recollect that he is himself 
very anxious for the pains to occur, and not an in- 
truding stranger who will be at all curious ; the reader 
may be quite certain that he is quite accustomed to all 
he will see and hear; the woman in labor need not 
think any more of him, because he is a man, than the 



LABOR EXPLAINED 147 

pillow she lies her head on; if her mind become thus 
indifferently composed her pains will return again. 

Even nurses hinder pains sometimes, when fussy 
and not the kind of women the patient thoroughly 
''takes to." Women in labor like someone present, as 
a rule, of course; their disturbed feelings and anxiety 
may thus be comforted; they may be waited on and 
helped in many little ways ; but notwithstanding this, 
the paining or contracting of the womb seems to be 
rather hindered by the presence of another, unless this 
other should be a mother, or nurse, or a doctor who 
is absolutely acceptable and pleasant to the patient in 
every respect. Encouragement to bear down, and to 
pull or push, may appear to do good very often; but 
it is doubtful whether anything that may be said is 
of any use wliatever, unless it act through the nervous 
system of the patient, rendering her quite regardless of 
anyone else attending her, so that the womb may not be 
hindered in its work by undue nervous sensitiveness. 

The reader will now see why a woman should be- 
come well acquainted with her doctor sometime early 
in pregnancy — so that she shall not be so very fright- 
ened of him when her confinement comes. But doc- 
tors know perfectly well the possible effect of their 
arrival, and they will very soon gauge the effect in in- 
dividual cases. They will conduct themselves in such 
a manner that their presence may be rendered as lit- 
tle objectionable as possible; in fact, they will do their 
best to inspire their patients with the full understand- 
ing that they are there to help and not to look on or 
hinder, and so dispel at once any feelings of shyness 
or discomfort. Women have all to be thankful that 
doctors are able, through experience, to render so 
much assistance, to the mind as well as to the body. 
Their attendance will include such manners and meth- 



148 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ods as will help to put a woman at her ease mentally 
as well as physically; and mental ease is, after all, 
one of the surest contributors to physical ease; the 
mind will usually influence most of the body's ills. 

What the doctors commonly experience is this; 
they reach the bedroom and learn from the nurse that 
the "pains" are coming fast and strong; but they 
themselves observe no pains for some little time. 
Then they say something like this to the patient: 
"Now, don't mind me in the least; just go on as 
though I were not here : take no notice of anyone 
whatever; just let your pains come and go as though 
you were quite alone/' Then the "pains" appear 
again. Reasoning in such manner, doctors note how 
much the mind of a lying-in woman is influenced by 
anyone being present during her distress, gauging 
how the mind influences the forces and feelings of the 
body. 

The pains of labor will be observed to be inter- 
mittent — coming and going. Nature has designed this 
for various reasons. Continued pressure would stop 
the circulation in those parts of the mother pressed 
upon by the strong contractions and forcing down of 
the womb ; it would thus cause serious damage. The 
circulation is restored again when a "pain" goes off. 
Moreover, the mother can obtain rest between the 
"pains," and so save her strength for the stronger ones 
that must come towards the end. 

The child also benefits by this coming and going of 
the pains. It could not live through one long and 
strong one. At this stage of its development it is soft 
and tender. The bones of its head are not united 
into a solid shell, they are loose and movable, and 
they give way to pressure a great deal ; it would die 
during labor if the pressure all over were too long 



LABOR EXPLAINED 149 

sustained. Moreover, the circulation of the blood that 
goes on between mother and child — until the child is 
altogether in the world — would be likely to stop if 
continued pressure were exerted. 

The contractions of the womb have been referred 
to as *'pains," for the latter word best expresses what 
women themselves perceive. A large part of the gen- 
eral distress and pain of childbirth is caused bv the 
dilatation of the parts through which the child must 
pass, and also by pressure on the blood vessels which 
causes so much discomfort in the thighs and groin, 
while pressure upon the nerve causes cramps in the 
legs. 

So much for the unpleasantness of it all — the dis- 
tress, the pain, the anguish — the determination never 
to go through it again. But let me tell the reader 
that there are women who give birth without a mur- 
mur — without feeling much more than they would 
if severely constipated. Such are w^orth referring to. 
Highly sensitive and nervous women suffer the most, 
as might Avell be imagined. 

"Birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: 

The soul that rises with us, our life's Star, 
Hath had elsewhere its setting. 
And Cometh from afar." 

—WORDSWORTH. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE FIRST INDICATIONS OF THE APPROACH OF 
LABOR 

A first confinement is very diflFerent from those that 
may follow, as will be well understood. When the 
parts and passages have once undergone all the pres- 
sures and stretchings peculiar to labor, they will sub- 
mit to any future repetitions much more readily, 
yielding more kindly and with less pain. Some women 
appear to get quite used to confinements, and go 
through them with scarcely any distress or pain, es- 
pecially if they are well-made, strong, and healthy. 
But the first time is practically always a great trial 
for the best of them, although there are some remark- 
able exceptions, which all very well serve to prove the 
rule. If first occasions widely diflfer from following 
ones, so also do firsts themselves differ from one an- 
other in different women, affording striking contrasts 
when observed in a large number of cases. One 
woman will occasionally appear to go through her first 
confinement almost as well as another who has pre- , 
viously had three or four children. Circumstances ! 
alter cases, and no two confinements are ever quite ' 
alike ; so we carefully study averages and compare a ^ 
large number. 

The differences between the various signs, symp- ' 
toms, and results exhibited by a woman pregnant for ! 
the first time, and similar signs, symptoms, and results | 
shown by another who has already experienced the j 

ISO 



APPROACH OF LABOR 151 

throes and delights of motherhood, may be note- 
worthy from the first indication of pregnancy; but 
only those points regarding labor that are important 
and useful for wives to know will be mentioned in 
this chapter, while occurrencses that are common to all 
women will be mentioned in the order they usually 
arise : — 

Very often pregnant women perceive womb con- 
tractions during the nine months of their pregnancy, 
and are thus very often misled, not recognizing the 
earliest pains of actual labor when they come on. 
Nervous women will sometimes imagine that they are 
going to miscarry at various stages of development, 
when nothing but slight irrelevant pains have been 
present, which pass oflF very soon. One patient is par- 
ticularly remembered, who began with pains in the 
abdomen at about the fifth month, and sent for the 
present writer. These pains were at first only due 
to flatulence, really; but, after persuading herself that 
she was going to miscarry, she developed real w^omb 
pains, through simply thinking so much about the 
miscarriage she imagined was surely impending. It 
was only after great difficulty, under medicines and 
force of argument, that she was persuaded no miscar- 
riage was going to take place. 

This same patient had one of her children taken ill 
with severe bronchitis three weeks before she should 
have been delivered of the infant she was then "carry- 
ing." The consequence was, she became so afraid that 
the sick child would not get better before she had to 
go to bed herself for her confinement, that on the sec- 
ond day of the illness the worry caused her to give 
premature birth. This case serves to show the 
eflFects of nervousness at two stages of pregnancy, and 
under quite different conditions, in the same patient. 



152 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Premature births not infrequently occur in nervous 
women through their simply imagining or brooding 
over pains that belong to quite another cause. One 
woman is remembered who gave birth to an eight- 
month child simply through miscalculating the time. 
She felt so certain that the time had arrived that she 
brought on labor by simply worrying and dwelling 
upon it. She was a highly hysterical patient, and 
caused great anxiety to everyone on a subsequent oc- 
casion by anticipating a miscarriage and very nearly 
getting one. Her first child had died, and she very 
much wanted the second to live, naturally. It was 
only with the greatest difficulty that she was led on 
to the eighth month once more, when she gave birth 
to a child, and it lived. It is this class of case, above 
all others, which is so much influenced by the chat- 
ter of friends. Therefore women should on no ac- 
count allow their imaginations to run away with 
them; they should silence the tongues of visiting 
busybodies, if they wish to avoid disaster while they 
are pregnant or during labor. A comfortable and 
calm mind in a healthy body is what is required ; no 
nerves and no advice from interfering and ill-informed 
neighbors. 

If any slight pain or distress is felt in the lower 
abdomen before the time delivery is expected, the 
wife had better see that her bowels have been proper- 
ly moved, and not send for the doctor thinking that 
her confinement was about to take place. Nothing is 
so bad as worrying and thinking and busying too 
soon about what may happen, for mind and body will 
be worn out long before the end is reached under 
these circumstances. Let things take their natural 
course ; time will certainly show what is the matter. 
Some women will perhaps find it difficult to be calm ; 



APPROACH OF LABOR 153 

but all can try, and a little common sense will always 
help in many ways. There will be no doubt about 
the real pains of labor when they do come. Particu- 
lar attention should be paid to the bowels as the time 
for confinement approaches ; while an enema of warm 
water as soon as ever the first labor pains are per- 
ceived will be most advantageous and hygienic. 

"It is all very well for those who do not go through 
the actual process themselves to advise others/' says 
one of my readers, ''but it is not so easy to be entire- 
ly self-possessed and controlled when you have sen- 
sations that some of your inside is making efforts to 
burst out.'' Quite so, replies the present writer; but 
a doctor must do the best he can for his patients, and 
to calm their anxieties and allay their fears is one of 
the most important duties he has to perform. I make 
this further assurance, that if the patient is able to 
manage her ideas and inclinations, keeping herself un- 
der control, permitting the doctor to decide and to 
direct proceedings, all acting quietly and calmly, then 
the best chance will be given for everything to pass 
oflf favorably. The difference between order and dis- 
order, in mind, body, process, or procedure, will in all 
cases be immense — it might be as much as would 
amount to life or death. 

"Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part; 
Do thou but thine." 

—MILTON. 



CHAPTER XVI 

SENDING FOR NURSE AND DOCTOR 

There is not much harm done by sending for the 
nurse, even if the wife be somewhat uncertain as to 
whether labor is commencing — especially if the nurse 
were at home doing nothing; indeed, it is generally 
best to send for the nurse a few days — or even weeks, 
if a patient can afford it — before the confinement is 
expected, for she can always find something to do; 
she can make lots of useful preparations, and help in 
many ways about the house. There is plenty of sew- 
ing to be done in every household, and there are also 
the baby's things to be got ready. The presence of a 
kind nurse tends to comfort a wife's mind, particu- 
larly if she be a pleasant and tactful one. 

Either she or the patient's mother will prove by far 
the best companion for a woman to have when the 
earliest pains begin ; either can help to keep down ex- 
citement by telling the patient how other women go 
on, and by encouraging her not to make too much of 
trifles. While if any trouble should be found with 
the bowels a nurse would be able to give an enema if 
necessary, for the bowels should be emptied one way 
or another before labor sets in. 

On rare occasions the doctor is sent for in a hurry, 
because haemorrhage has set in, which may be profuse 
or only slight. It is quite right to send for the doctor 
as soon as ever any marked haemorrhage occurs, when 

154 



SENDING FOR NURSE AND DOCTOR 155 

the later months of pregnancy have been reached, for 
it points to a serious condition known to doctors as 
Placenta Praevia, in which the afterbirth is wrongly 
situated. When the afterbirth ''comes first" it will 
bleed profusely every time the womb contracts, par- 
ticularly when the mouth and neck of the womb begin 
to open. In such cases a patient may quickly bleed 
to death if assistance be not promptly rendered. 

The bleeding of Placenta Praevia may be noticed 
long before the confinement is expected, and may 
come on suddenly, without any apparent cause. In 
the latter event there may be a considerable quantity 
come away, especially if the time for delivery is close 
at hand. Sometimes the haemorrhage is so great as 
to cause extreme anaemia and exhaustion; even death 
may take place rapidly. 

Placenta Praevia is very rare in a first pregnancy, 
more commonly occurring in those who have had 
many children; it generally depends upon some dis- 
ordered state of the womb that has followed former 
confinements. Only one in six or seven hundred 
women suffer from it, so it is a comparatively rare 
condition. The stronger the pains are, when labor 
sets in, generally the better it is for the patient, for 
the head of the child is thus brought down to press 
upon the afterbirth, blocking up the passage and stop- 
ping the bleeding to some extent. The doctor, hav- 
ing been sent for immediately, will use his judgment 
as to what is the best procedure to adopt ; he will at 
once make an examination in order to find the exact 
position of the bleeding afterbirth, and will further 
ascertain the state of the womb and position of the 
child. The "pains" are often very weak, because of 
the patient's loss of blood. Generally it is necessary 
to promptly deliver the child by means of either in- 



156 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

struments or the doctor's hand inserted. Something 
should be done very quickly; but the patient must 
keep as calm as possible, so that the doctor and nurse 
can do their work quickly and well. 

The condition is always a serious one^ and the lives 
of both mother and child are often hung in the bal- 
ance. 

If a doctor cannot reach his patient quickly enough 
in a case of Placenta Praevia, and the situation seems 
quite urgent, then the nurse should plug the vagina 
with cotton-wool or clean linen dipped first in an 
antiseptic and then in vaseline, which may be passed 
in by the finger. The patient should lie quite still on 
her back, with her buttocks raised, and have no hot 
drinks or stimulants unless she should grow faint. 
Nothing further can safely be done until the doctor 
comes. 

When there is pronounced haemorrhage before the 
proper time for delivery, or even very early in labor, 
the doctor cannot be sent for too soon ; but on the 
other hand, he is very often sent for far too early in 
an ordinary case of labor. If a patient be nervous or 
unduly anxious she will want to send for the doctor 
before labor pains have really fairly started, just be- 
cause she thinks something is going to happen. Those 
pregnant for the first time are often given to this 
urgency, as may also their over-anxious mothers. 
Late at night, it is surprising how quite sensible peo- 
ple may lose their heads when there is absolutely no 
cause for hasty messages. One "works up" the other 
by alarming observations, and then a rush is made 
for the doctor, who may promptly arrive to find that 
only the very earliest sensations have begun and tHat 
the confinement will not take place until the next day. 

Here is where a good nurse is valuable. She knows 



SENDING FOR NURSE AND DOCTOR 157 

when to send for the doctor. She has had experience, 
and she pacifies the patient until the character of the 
pains indicates that labor has really progressed suffi- 
ciently for the doctor to be sent for. Even nurses, 
when inexperienced, will sometimes get nervous and 
''worked up'' by friends around, and will even rush 
for the doctor themselves if need be, hours too soon. 
It might be very nice if doctors could attend quite 
early and remain a day or two with their patient; but 
they cannot always do so ; they must see other pa- 
tients and get to bed now and again. They do not 
mind stopping up an odd night with a patient, drop- 
ping in to see her several times a day, perhaps ; but 
they could not be expected to be present from the 
earliest sensations to the very end, with so much other 
work to do. Nor could they do much good if they 
were present very early. Nature ought always to 
have her course, and the doctor should only come in 
when he could be of real use. The patient will cer- 
tainly not get on well if the doctor is all the time 
present; she should be as much alone as possible for 
a large part of the time, only the mother or nurse be- 
ing present. Too many present of any sex or relation- 
ship spoil a confinement in very many instances. 

A good nurse will have the capacity to guide her 
patient a long way through labor, comfortably, quiet- 
ly, and therefore quickly, allowing Nature to do her 
work until art can step in to advantag'e. 

Good doctors are frequently spoiled by nurses, and 
come to question the urgency of messages, having had 
a number of false alarms in their experience ; they will 
wait a long time after being called, feeling certain that 
their services will not be necessary yet. Though once 
in a hundred times their presence may be necessary 
quite early. 



158 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Perhaps a doctor may live a long way from his pa- 
tient. A good nurse is a blessing in this case. Oc- 
casionally a labor will be much quicker than it has 
ever been before, and the child may be born before 
the doctor arrives. If this should occur, the patient 
should know that not the slightest harm can befall her 
in the ordinary case, if she be left alone for fifteen 
minutes or even much longer. The child can be cov- 
ered up and left warm in bed near its mother, unless 
the nurse has beeen accustomed to and is able to tie 
the cord; this she should proceed to do quietly and 
slowly, tying it in two places preferably, and cutting 
it between the two ties. But there will be no harm 
done by waiting, if the cord cannot be tied. Should 
severe haemorrhage occur, which is extremely unlike- 
ly, the nurse can really do nothing at all worth speak- 
ing of. Some patients get alarmed if the head 
present, or if the child be born before the doctor ar- 
rives ; as a rule, however, no harm will result, and it 
will be quite safe for the mother to wait a little while, 
she and her child resting as comfortably as possible. 

Before the doctor arrives, and while the earlier 
"pains'' are getting longer and stronger, the nurse 
should see that everything about the room and bed is 
arranged suitably. Baby's clothes, and all the nap- 
kins and things necessary for confinement, should be 
aired either downstairs or in the bedroom itself, and 
kept warm for putting on. Safety-pins, skeins of 
thread and scissors should be there ready for use. 
Everything about the wash-stand should be clean 
and ready far use. Towels should be gotten out 
in abundance and soap supplied. Let there be 
plenty of water, two basins, an ordinary jug or two, 
drinking water bottle, tumbler, and teaspoon. The 
fire should be lighted if not too warm, and a kettle 



SENDING FOR NURSE AND DOCTOR 159 

with Hot water kept on or near it. If it is too warm 
for a fire, the nurse should be certain that kettles are 
on the kitchen fire with hot water ready. 

The patient should walk about the room if possible 
during the first stage; walking about, sitting, and 
leaning over the head of the bed are favorite alterna- 
tions, until the stronger pains necessitate a recumbent 
posture. S'he should also frequently pass water dur- 
ing the first stage. She will very possibly shiver a 
good deal ; this is very common and should not create 
any alarm. 

"The first in loftiness of thought surpassed, 
The next in majesty, in both and last. 
The force of Nature could no further go; 
To make a third, she join'd the former two." 

■— DRYDEN. 



CHAPTER XVII 

PERSONAL AND BBDCLOTHING FOR CONFINEMENT. 

The bed itself should be made in the ordinary way 
with a sheet of some sort of waterproof material 
placed on the right-hand side of the bed, hanging well 
over, having some folded sheets placed on top of it. 
One can scarcely give complete directions for the 
making of a bed and the arranging of the waterproofs, 
for so much depends upon the class of patient and 
the things at disposal. Some might have double 
waterproof sheets specially made, while others may 
use a bit of mackintosh, having to be content with 
some old thick quilts of some kind — anything so long 
as the bed and bedclothes are protected — and better 
still, that things are clean. This book is written for 
all classes, and is intended as a general guide ; the 
nurse will obtain and arrange what she can, while the 
wife will have procured beforehand what she has con- 
sidered she could afford best. 

The nurse should do everything she can to make the 
patient comfortable. This book is not written for 
her, however. She should have her own handbook; 
and it is not written for those wives who cannot have 
a nurse. Every woman should have a nurse in con- 
finement; yet, the present writer, when a medical stu- 
dent, once attended a woman who was confined on the 
floor of a room with no covering but her own poor 
personal apparel and a few pieces of sacking, while 

i6o 



CLOTHING FOR CONFINEMENT i6i 

no one else was present to render assistance or to 
fetch even a drop of hot water. Wives will know 
perfectly well that a waterproof will save the bed, and 
the poorest will provide one if they can. A roller 
towel fastened at the head or foot of the bed, in such 
a position that the patient may be able to pull on it, 
had also better be provided. 

As regards the dress of the patient there are many 
differences of opinion. The present writer considers 
that the less fuss made about personal clothing the 
better. There is very often far too much changing 
and arranging. The easy-going way which some 
wives have of taking off their dress and putting on a 
dressing or bed-gown, just loosening all waist-bands, 
taking off the corset or abdominal belt, if one be worn, 
and lying down upon the side of the bed, after taking 
off such underclothing as does not seem to be wanted, 
leaving all other arrangements to the nurse, is one 
that has very great advantages. Putting the matter 
plainly, the less fuss of any kind made before, during, 
or after a confinement the better. So much haste and 
preparation, so much changing and busying- about, 
tends to excite the patient, and also very often to ex- 
haust her. A woman in labor requires, above all, as 
little pulling about as possible, so long as she is quite 
comfortable. I have entered bedrooms, sometimes, to 
find a terror-stricken wife standing trembling on the 
floor of the room, or being pulled about the bed, as the 
case may be, all the time being racked with pains and 
anguish, just in order that some chemise may be 
changed. What a farce this has seemed to be! She 
is not to be prepared for a ball or drawing-room ; why 
should she have these unnecessary changes at this 
distressful moment? Dressing for the event has 
sometimes the effect of interfering with the progress 



i62 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

of the pains; the timid patient will feel almost as 
though some sort of execution were about to take 
place, everybody pulling and preparing, hurrying and 
looking anxious. 

This law may be laid down regarding personal 
clothes, after the child is born, and respecting the ar- 
rangement of the bed: so long as the patient may lie 
comfortable and dry, leave her clothes as they are 
until an hour or so after the labor is ended. No un- 
necessary dressing or undressing before, and none af- 
terwards, if you please : she wants as little interfer- 
ence as possible; she has quite as much as she can 
manage with her pains ; she will require rest far more 
than clean clothes. Be sure she is quite comfortable 
after the birth has taken place, draw away the wet 
sheets and waterproof, then let all be quiet and thank- 
ful ; her best position is resting and recovering. If 
the draw-sheets and personal clothing have been sen- 
sibly arranged beforehand there ought to be very lit- 
tle wet afterwards to cause the patient discomfort. 
What there is about the hips may easily be covered 
temporarily or rolled up in a heap beside her for a 
time ; the patient wants rest above all nozv. These prin- 
ciples are applicable to Royalty as well as to the poor. 
A princess should no more be unduly and unneces- 
sarily disturbed before or after confinement than a 
laborer's wife, even though she have a hundred night- 
dresses trimmed with lace to put on. Take care of 
the woman, and the clothes will take care of them- 
selves. Never mind a soiled garment if it were better 
that the patient should lie still and rest. 

"Who, doomed to go in company with Pain, 
And fear, and bloodshed, distressful train! 
Turns her necessity to glorious gain." 

—WORDSWORTH. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

SOME ARTICLES USEFUL AT A CONFINEMENT 

Though so much depends upon the ability to afford 
the expense of certain things that are useful or neces- 
sary at a confinement, such indications will be given 
the reader in this chapter as will serve as a guide for 
all classes of people. Every woman must needs go as 
far as she feels able in providing the many little things 
that she may read about or hear of from her friends. 
There are no hard and fast rules to be laid down as 
regards either things or qualities. The rich can have 
what the poor cannot, and it is astonishing, after all, 
how little some people can put up with. 

Binders are very necessary to provide. Two to 
four in number, they should be made of sufficiently 
stout material to stand pinning and pulling; jean or 
towelling is good for this purpose. They should be a 
little over a yard long and about sixteen inches wide. 
They are used for the purpose of binding up the 
mother's body after the birth of the child. More than 
one is required on account of washing. 

In order to secure the binder, safety-pins should be 
handy, and the larger these are the better. Cheap 
boxes do not always contain the right sort. Five or 
six good strong and large ones should be obtained. 
Nothing annoys a doctor so much as weak little pins, 
that would hardly hold lace together, much less strong 
towelling. 

163 



i64 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Some authors of books for mothers recommend 
their readers to buy a box of vaseline, or to supply- 
some lard for the use of the doctor. Such things the 
present writer cannot recommend. The doctor will 
bring what he requires of this nature. Let the good 
wife see that her nurse has provided her own things 
beforehand, while the doctor will look well after him- 
self — or rather his patient. He will be careful to use 
antiseptic oil or prepared vaseline, and will not re- 
quire a bottle or box that may possibly have been used 
before for some skin diseases for all he knows. Of- 
fering lard or vaseline to the doctor is distinctly old- 
fashioned and nowadays quite unnecessary. 

Most wives will have heard of antiseptics. They 
promote what is termed by doctors ''Surgical purity 
or cleanness," a term used in distinguishing from 
mere apparent cleanness. They consist of powders, 
crystals, or fluids, from which solutions may be made, 
and these solutions will kill germs that cannot be seen, 
and purify any uncleanness there may be about, 
whether of the body, hands, or instruments. Most of 
them are poisonous, as may be imagined, and some are 
most deadly. For use in a household, and by the wife 
who expects a confinement, the less poisonous ones 
are recommended, because of the possibility of the 
children getting hold of them, and in order to avoid 
the accidental poisoning of anyone, even herself ; they 
are also advisable because the burning and irritating 
nature of the poisonous ones renders them very dan- 
gerous to use. Such powerful antiseptics as carbolic 
acid and bichloride of mercury cannot be recom- 
mended for use, either for the nurse or wife herself, 
unless under the careful direction of the doctor. They 
should never be used as ordinary homely household 
disinfectants. They are highly dangerous to use, 



USEFUL AT CONFINEMENT 165 

even externally, for those who do not thoroughly un- 
derstand them. 

There are several very excellent antiseptic solutions 
for the w^ife to have in her cupboard, which are com- 
paratively non-poisonous; most of which are quite 
strong enough, and some even as strong as the most 
poisonous ones. Permanganate of potash solution is 
one of these, and may be made from a few crystals 
of the drug, which should render the water added of 
the appearance of watered claret to be fit for use ; this 
is quite safe and is a very effectual solution to use as 
a general cleanser and deodorizer. Boracic acid and 
water make a good antiseptic solution, and a safe one, 
though rather mild. Lysol is a very useful antiseptic, 
and non-irritating in right strength. It should only 
be kept and used under the direction of a doctor, how- 
ever. 

A slipper bed-pan will be found very convenient; 
the wife's own common sense will suggest this to her. 
One may often be borrowed for a week or two if a n,ew 
one cannot be afforded. Well-to-do people who have 
gone through severe illnesses are sometimes only too 
pleased to lend articles for the use of the suffering 
poor; they remember what they had to go through 
themselves and are glad to help others when they can. 

Sponges are not recommended in the lying-in 
chamber, except perhaps for hands and face. They 
are always full of germs. Clean flannel or linen, well 
washed and boiled each time the pieces are soiled, are 
better to use for the private parts. Sponges are house- 
hold articles used for all purposes, and by all peo- 
ple, while pieces of flannel or linen should be taken 
care of for the use of the patient herself only. 

A properly-trained lying-in nurse will be equipped 
with antiseptics which she should have been taught 



i66 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

the nature and use of. She should never be without 
them. 

Either a douche-tin with tubing, or an india-rubber 
enema syringe, is a valuable article to have in the 
bedroom. Douching will be especially referred to in 
a later chapter. Either of the appliances are liable 
to get foul; to be safe, therefore, the tubes of the 
former ought to be new at each confinement, while 
a new syringe ought to be bought every time, if a 
syringe is prefifered. Old tubes and syringes are dan- 
gerous for they are sure to become impure in time; 
an enema-syringe may have been used previously for 
giving enemas, for instance. Moreover, such things 
as these should not be borrowed for use at a confine- 
ment case, for various reasons. As regards the tube 
for the vagina, to be used with either of these appH- 
ances, the one referred to specially in a later chapter 
is decidedly the best to have, and it would be advisable 
to steep it in a permanganate of potash solution for a 
day or so before confinement, so that it may be per- 
fectly purified, whether it has been used previously 
or not. 

Diapers or sanitary towels may be bought in abund- 
ance, and they may be had in all kinds and qualities, 
some having special virtues. Each wife must supply 
herself with whatever of these articles she thinks she 
ought to have, according to her means and station. 
Washing-diapers for a confinement had better be 
washed at home, and be well boiled. It is better to 
be quite certain that they have not been mixed up 
with other people's things, as they might be at a 
laundry. Disinfection and absolute cleanliness are 
imperative in respect to everything that is to come 
in contact with the private parts of the patient. 



USEFUL AT CONFINEMENT 167 

When a mother is nearing the time for getting up 
after confinement she will be allowed to sit up in bed 
for an hour or so for a few days. This will not be 
found a very comfortable posture unless the back be 
supported; then it is quite agreeable, and makes a 
pleasant change from recent continued recumbency. 
In order to derive sufficient support she may have 
pillows packed behind her by the nurse, or better still, 
have a bed-rest put into position. 

"A head to contrive, 
A heart to resolve, 
And a hand to execute." 

—GIBBON. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE PASSAGE OP THE CHILD INTO THE WORLD 

What are called false or spurious pains are some- 
times misleading to a patient, and the doctor is often 
sent for far too soon on account of them. Certain 
pains of the abdomen may be perceived or imagined 
that have nothing whatever to do with the womb ; 
nervous women who are pregnant for the first time 
are more liable to experience them than others. 

There are three stages of labor to be gone through, 
after the real pains have commenced. The first is that 
concerned with the opening of the entrance of the 
womb ; the second is that between the full dilation for 
the child to pass out, and the actual appearance of 
the child outside its mother ; the third stage is taken 
up by the passage and delivery of the afterbirth. 

In the first stage the head presses down upon the 
entrance of the womb in order to force or wedge it 
open>, and it is helped in this work by certain mem- 
branes which cover it ; for these lead the way and make 
the dilatation easier. The membranes also contain 
fluid constituting a soft sort of wedge which shall 
make a way for the head. The head would find diffi- 
culty in doing this dilating work alone, without the 
help of the fluid and membranes. 

During this stage there will appear what is known 
as a "show," which consists of mucous fluid mixed 
with a little blood ; it is caused by the rupture of some 

i68 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD 169 

small blood-vessels at the womb entrance. As time 
goes on this discharge wU increase, and will lubricate 
the passage so that the descent of the child may be 
easier. 

The membranes containing fluid will soon come 
down through the mouth of the womb, helping to 
dilate it wide enough for the head to come after. 
When they have done their work, they at length break 
by the force of the pains or contractions of the womb, 
and a gush of fluid takes place, which experienced 
women and nurses understand and describe as the 
^'breaking of the waters." Sometimes these mem- 
branes are so tight that they will not break of them- 
selves, and the doctor must make an opening, in his 
own particular way, so as to let the head of the child 
come down. When the mouth of the womb is fully 
opened, breaking the membranes usually hastens 
delivery considerably ; but such a proceedure will have 
the opposite effect if done too soon. Indeed, occasion- 
ally the child will occupy a wrong position in the 
womb, and if the waters drain away too quickly and 
completely, what is known as a "dry labor'' will be 
produced, and the doctor will not be able to manipu- 
late the child so easily as if the water membranes had 
not broken. 

On rare occasions the bag of membranes may come 
down so low, before breaking, that it will protrude out- 
side the private parts, the head of the child following 
it; then, when the membranes break, a portion may be 
left over the child's head: this portion is known as 
a caul, and when dried is supposed to bring luck to 
any possessor of it. High prices will sometimes be 
paid for a ''child's caul," and it is especially sought for 
by sailors, who think that wearing one will prevent 
them from losing their life by drowning. 



I70 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

After the mouth of the womb has been sufficiently 
opened, and the membranes have broken so that the 
"waters" come away, the patient will generally notice 
that the pains become much more marked, more 
powerful, and lasting longer. Now the head will come 
down the vaginal passage, by degrees; every pain, 
which now lasts sometimes as long as a minute or 
more, brings it further and further down. In addition 
to the force of the womb alone, driving down the 
child, the patient will assist herself in bearing-down, 
almost by instinct just as anyone would bear down at 
stool ; the breath will be held and every effort will be 
made to urge down. 

While experiencing the "pains'* of the first stage, 
the patient has perhaps chosen to walk about the 
room, leaning or sitting anyhow she liked best, but in 
the second stage of labor she should lie on her left side 
in bed, with her knees drawn right up towards her 
body. A pillow or something soft should be placed 
between the knees to keep them from pressing hard 
upon one another and hurting. If the feet can touch 
the end of the bed the patient may push hard, and she 
may pull upon anything she can get hold of to advant- 
age. A roller towel is about the best thing than can be 
used for this purpose, fastened either to the head or the 
end of the bed. When the doctor arrives he will judge 
whether the patient should be in bed or not. During 
labor, the patient should not leave the room on any 
account. The bowels or bladder should be relieved 
in the room, or in another room, but never in a water 
closet, in case the child should be born there, more 
suddenly than expected. 

Should any desire to stool be experienced while the 
patient is in bed, the nurse will attend to this. It is 
quite common for the bowels to move to some extent 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD 171 

during the second stage of labor ; they ought not to do 
so, however, if they have been properly attended to 
in the manner suggested in a former chapter; but if 
they do, this should not disturb the patient in the 
least. The nurse will deftly take everything away, 
and cleanse the parts without delay. The reader 
should know that there may be a strong desire to go 
to stool, however, without the ability to pass a motion. 
Very often the patient feels as though she wants to 
pass a motion, and there is none there to pass. The 
pressure on the back passage causes this sensation. 
The same deception is often experienced in regard to 
passing water; there may be the desire only, and no 
water to pass, or it may not be possible for her to pass 
any at the moment on accoun.t of the pressure of 
the head. 

When the head is passing quite low down, there is 
usually not so much agony felt as at an earlier stage. 
Though the pains get stronger and stronger the 
patient feels more satisfied that she is making 
progress ; she feels there is something there which will 
require all her repeated energy and strength to force 
out. She shuts her mouth and bears down with forti- 
tude and confidence, feeling certain now that all will 
be over soon, at the rate the *^pains" are working. It 
is advisable for her to keep her mouth closed, for two 
reasons : she would be less likely to scream or make a 
great noise, and more force would be directed towards 
the work of expulsion while the lips were pressed to- 
gether and the breath held. 

When the head is pressing on the outlet of the 
passage it will be well for the patient not to be in any 
hurry if she can possibly exercise any control over her- 
self, especially if the confinement be the first, because 
a too rapid forcing of the head may cause a tear. A 



172 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

certain time is naturally necessary for the parts to open 
without tearing. With plenty of time tears would 
hardly ever occur. The patient should, therefore, lie 
perfectly still just before the birth of the head; rest- 
ing as quietly as possible between each pain, the doc- 
tor will comfort her and console her for this purpose ; 
the ''pains" will come quite rapidly enough of them- 
selves ; now is the time to keep them back a little if 
they are inclined to follow on too violently. 

Should the head threaten to tear the outlet of the 
vagina, the doctor will endeavor to prevent such a 
misfortune by various means, and by encouraging the 
patient to lie perfectly still in order to delay the 
**pains" as much as possible, so that the head may 
gradually open the parts wide enough. At last the 
head is forced out ; and it generally remains where it is 
a moment or two until another pain forces out the 
shoulders and the rest. The doctor will guide the 
parts through the outlet, and assist the shoulders 
through if they should seem disinclined to come. 

The child's head, when born, will be seen to bulge a 
great deal on the top and at the back. Mothers will 
sometimes get frightened when they see this, thinking 
that the head has been injured, or that it is naturally 
and permanently deformed. It is, however, only tem- 
porarily deformed. A swelling will nearly always 
occur in this situation on the head ; it is caused by 
the pressure the head has received on its sides ; the 
swelled portion came foremost, following the line of 
least resistance in its journey down the vaginal pas- 
sage. The head develops quite a nice shape very soon ; 
the swelling disappears and all prominences round off 
beautifully in a few hours, leaving no sign whatever 
that this delicate part of the child has gone through 
so much pushing and pressing out of shape. As be- 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD 173 

fore stated, the child's head is quite soft when born, 
the bones not being united, but free even to overlap if 
necessary. It can be subjected to very great pressure, 
and even knocks, as in falling, without any harm being 
done, because the bones are arranged by Nature so. 
Even if a child should fall on the floor in unexpected 
delivery, it will rarely be injured. 

No two women are alike. Some will make a tre- 
mendous fuss over a confinement, while others will 
go through the ordeal with scarcely a murmur. The 
contrast thus shown depends upon differences of tem- 
perament and physical structure and forces. The 
highly-nervous will perceive pains and distress quite 
differently from what hardy and more phlegmatic 
constitutions will ; also the sensible more than the 
dull ; the well-made less than the deformed ; the strong 
less than the weak, as a rule. By way of example, 
one patient is remembered by the present writer, who 
refused to endure the earliest and slightest pains with- 
out chloroform — she firmly insisted upon having it at 
the very beginning; she declined to engage a doctor 
who would not promise beforehand to give it, right 
from the very first suggestion of a pain. He promised 
to give it, if he found it necessary. That satisfied her. 
She took good care to find it necessary when the time 
came, for she threatened to "raise the whole neigh- 
borhood" at the very first little twinge, and sent the 
husband flying for the doctor and his chloroform. He 
gave it too. 

By way of contrast, take note of the following case, 
which is only one of a large number of similar ones 
that occur every year — similar, that is, as regards the 
immediate effects of the confinement on the girl. 

Mary , twenty-six years of age, who had been 

employed as kitchenmaid for some time, complained 



174 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

to Jane, a fellow-servant, of being unwell, and went 
upstairs, saying she would be down again directly. 
As she did not return, Jane went to her bedroom door, 
which she found locked on the inside. Hearing a 
weak and smothered cry from a baby, she knocked, 
and asked if anything were wrong, only to receive 
the reply from Mary that she would be downstairs 
immediately. Jane then returned to the kitchen, fol- 
lowed shortly afterwards by Mary; but the former 
was curious, and went upstairs again to Mary's bed- 
room, which she found in great disorder. On lifting 
the lid of an old deal box she discovered the dead body 
of a newly-born female child, wrapped in a coarse 
apron. Returning to the kitchen she taxed Mary 
with being the mother; Mary admitted she was, and 
begged her fellow-servant to ''try and forget it," and 
to keep the matter quiet from the people of the house. 
Jane, however, told her mistress. At half-past eight 
next morning Jane took up some breakfast to Mary, 
and on entering the bedroom was astonished to find 
the bed empty, the girl gone, and the dead child from 
the box too. Four days elapsed, and nothing had 
been heard of her ; whether she was ever found is not 
at the present moment known. Neither the mistress 
nor her fellow-servant had ever suspected that she 
was in the "family way." 

This case, the details concerning which are perfect- 
ly true, shows how much some women can bear with- 
out making a noise or complaining to anyone. A 
good deal depends on circumstances, of course ; the 
girl in the above case might one day marry and make 
no end of fuss at her next confinement, having a sym- 
pathizing and heart-pierced husband pacing the floor, 
his head throbbing with anxiety, while the grand- 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD 175 

mother was wailing and commiserating upstairs with 
her poor, suffering daughter. 

The amount of distress a woman will manifest in 
confinement will certainly largely depend upon the 
powers of control exercised by those present. Doc- 
tors often hear screams before they reach the front 
door of a house, after being sent for to attend a case 
of confinement; but generally they will succeed in 
bringing about peace and quietness in a few minutes, 
after arriving, by the force of simple mental control. 
Patients will sometimes scramble and wrestle with 
their mother or nurse, fighting and dragging all over 
the bedroom, while they are in labor for the first time, 
their distracted and patient mother trying in vain to 
comfort and control them — the nurse being absolutely 
useless, it might be through ignorance or idleness. 
But when the doctor comes he controls all this dis- 
order by the mere influence of his well-chosen words ; 
one way or another, he will succeed in persuading his 
patient into a state of comparative quietude, helping 
her and giving her confidence. While shortly before 
she was wild, unreined, and almost mad at the mys- 
tery, agony, and uncertainty of it all, when the doctor 
arrives and gives her words of consolation and com- 
fort, she feels she has someone she can depend upon 
to guide her through her trouble and anguish — some- 
one who can do more for her than either her mother 
or the nurse. 

Having brought peace and quietness, the doctor 
gets his patient to bed if she be not already there; he 
"tries a pain" by digital examination, having regard 
for the feelings of the sufferer and keeping her cov- 
ered as much as possible. He then looks for every- 
thing that should be provided, and inquires if things 
are warm and aired for use. He puts the patient in 



176 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

the best position, and instructs her as to the best way 
of managing *'pains/' He tells her that she should 
rest absolutely between the pains. 

When the child is born the mother should take 
breath and rest a while. She should not trouble about 
the baby ; the doctor and nurse will see after that now. 
''It is a girl !'' Let the mother lie still for a time. 
The doctor will not wish anyone to hurry particular- 
ly; it is not necessary to do so; he knows that haste 
causes excitement, and that this would upset the pa- 
tient and everybody else ; he also knows that it is so 
often the cause of many mistakes and much clumsi- 
ness being shown. The baby will take no harm ; let 
it kick and squeal if it likes ; it will do it good. Slowly 
and well, the doctor will now tie the cord which unites 
it to the after birth — which still remains in the 
mother, remember. The baby can then be taken by 
the nurse to be kept warm in flannel until it is washed. 
Pull away the chief wet things near the patient; roll 
the slightly soiled out of the way, and leave her to 
take absolute rest now, after offering a drink of milk- 
tea. 

Nothing should be done to the mother at all for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, provided she is compara- 
tively comfortable, lying still on her side. She will 
enjoy the relief from so much work and pain about 
the body. The afterbirth has not come away yet; it 
should be allowed to take its own time, and not be 
drawn away directly the child is born. There is no 
hurry. 

The afterbirth, which some mothers will have per- 
haps seen when they have been present at the confine- 
ment of some of their friends, is about the size of a 
pudding plate, thick, shaped like a large bun, and it 
has skinny membranes adhering to it, which seem to 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD 177 

be drawn and twisted together on one side of it, form- 
ing a spiral cord about the thickness of one's little 
finger — the cord which the doctor has tied and cut 
with scissors after the child was born. This after- 
birth is detached from the inside of the womb during 
labor, and it will come down, shortly after the child is 
born, into the vagina, folded upon itself, in due time 
to be forced outside. It should then be put into the 
chamber placed under the bed beforehand for it, after 
being examined by the doctor to see that all has come 
away. 

Very often the afterbirth does not come away by 
itself, even though the proper time has been given it, 
twenty to thirty minutes ; then the doctor will abstract 
it without much trouble. Mothers often worry about 
the afterbirth before it has come away, thinking either 
that the worst has still to be gone through or that it is 
fixed inside the womb. But very rarely does the doc- 
tor have any difficulty in getting it away. Now and 
again some adhesion will occur, but not so often as 
women's friends sometimes tell them. If the doctor 
does not happen to be present at the time, or if a mid- 
wife has been engaged, and there is any difficulty with 
the afterbirth, he should be sent for at once. On no 
account should the cord be pulled upon, or any man- 
ipulation or penetration of the parts made, by anyone 
else but him. Sometimes nurses and midwives have 
broken this rule; they have torn away the cord and 
jeopardized the life of their patient. If the cord is 
thus broken the best guide to the position of the after- 
birth is taken away, and the doctor will have much 
more trouble in getting it away than he would if it 
had not been previously clumsily dealt with. 

A drink of tea or gruel may be given during the 
stages of labor. Vomiting is very common during 



178 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

the second stage, but it need not alarm anyone: it 
may be inconvenient, but, if anything, it has more 
advantages than disadvantages, for the patient pro- 
gresses more definitely afterwards, as a rule. A few 
sips of water or soda water may stop it. Stimulants 
had better not be given unless the patient be ordered 
to take them specially by the doctor, on account of 
collapse due to loss of blood or faintness. 

Midwives and nurses are very rarely much good at 
managing a patient or instructing her as to ''pains." 
They usually encourage a patient to help herself at 
the wrong time, imagining that urging and forcing all 
the time is necessary. The thoughtful will under- 
stand that no woman can work and strain all the time. 
Were she to attempt to do so she would soon be ex- 
hausted. The time for her to help herself by bear- 
ing down is when a pain comes. As soon as it goes 
she should be perfectly still, saving herself for the 
next. She should not even talk — much less should 
she discuss other cases which the nurse is so fond of 
telling her she has assisted in. 

Only a doctor should ''help the pains'' by internal 
manipulation; neither midwife nor nurse should ever put 
their Unger inside a vagina. Nor should anyone but a 
doctor use pressure upon the abdomen in labor, for no 
one but he can possibly know just how to do it — no 
one else has had his scientific training. Others are 
bound to make mistakes, if ever so little. If a doctor 
is not there, the less manipulative interference, by 
either a midwife or nurse, the better. After the child 
is born the women may be of considerable use — in 
their place. 

The time a labor will occupy will vary greatly ac- 
cording to circumstances. First confinements are 
usually much longer than others that may occur after- 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD 179 

wards. But a first may be shorter, if normal, than a 
second if the child is in a bad position. A wife must 
not be disappointed or alarmed if she is going on to 
even tvv^elve hours in her first case. No woman can 
tell how long she will be, and no nurse. A doctor 
can gauge fairly accurately after he has made an ex- 
amination, but certainly not before. 

Most doctors will direct that a binder be placed 
round the patient's abdomen after delivery. Some, I 
am sorry to say, do not trouble about them, or do not 
think they are of any use. I observe the best practi- 
tioners are those who apply the binder themselves, 
making certain that it is properly and comfortably ap- 
plied. The best time to put a binder on is imme- 
diately after the afterbirth has been taken away, when 
the patient has been moved in the bed. Let alone 
the opinion many hold, that the binder helps to re- 
store a woman's shape after confinement, there can 
be no gainsaying that in most instances — in practi- 
cally all — she will find a binder a most comfortable 
support when firmly applied. She is sure to feel some- 
what flabby and weakened about the body, and a 
binder will give her the sensation of being nicely sup- 
ported. 

The well-to-do can have nicely-fitting abdominal 
belts if they like, which can be kept for any number 
of confinements — notwithstanding the ever-recurring 
resolutions that a future occasion will never come, 
and that the old belt may just as well be burned. 

The doctor will feel the pulse of his patient and 
otherwise see that she is right before leaving her. In 
an hour or hour and a half after the doctor has gone, 
the nurse may change the patient's personal clothing 
should it require it. 

If the child have been born before the doctor ar- 



i8o THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

rives, as may well occur if the labor has been un- 
usually rapid, then a nurse who understands tying 
the cord is a valuable one, and if she be one who does 
not lose her head in any way, little harm will be likely 
to come to either mother or child for at any rate an 
hour or so. By this time the doctor is almost sure 
to have arrived. 

Neither a midwife nor a nurse should ever attempt 
to abstract an afterbirth if it is not expelled externally 
by natural means. Above all, she should never pull 
on the cord. A doctor should be sent for if the case 
is one in which a midwife has been retained. 

The doctor will use antiseptics to ensure perfect 
surgical cleanliness throughout ; the nurse also should 
have used them before goin.g near her patient. Anti- 
septics are used after ordinary cleansing, or as a part 
of ordinary cleansing, to make certain that no poi- 
sonous germs are about the parts of a lying-in woman. 
Ordinary washing might not be enough, so antisep- 
tics are used to make certain. Everything — clothes, 
instruments, hands, that may go near the parts of a 
lying-m woman — should be germ-free. This will bear 
repeating. 

A patient should not be bothered by visitors dur- 
ing the first twenty-four hours after labor is over, not 
even by her near relatives. Her husband may look in 
for a moment after the bed has been arranged and 
everything appears in order ; but he must go away 
again after the usual simple greeting and congratu- 
lating. He can do no good. For a week after labor 
only the nearest and dearest friends should enter the 
lying-in chamber, children being only permitted to 
look in for a few minutes at a time to see baby and 
mother — if she has any other children — for quietness 
and avoidance of any excitement is necessary for a 



THE PASSAGE OF THE CHILD i8i 

time. If any friend should seem inclined to stop too 
long, then the nurse can easily find some excuse for 
asking her to retire, and she has always "the doctor 
says" to fall back upon in. a matter of this kind, and 
she knows the doctor never likes visitors to stay too 
long, curiously questioning. Visitors may be a great 
advantage or disadvantage to a patient, according to 
circumstances; they may cheer up and do good, or 
they may irritate and excite a person. Other mothers 
make the best visitors, for they know thoroughly well 
all about these lying-in events; while curious spin- 
sters, district-visitors, or wives who are barren are the 
worst, because they are, in a sense, unsympathetic, 
incompatible, uncongenial, innocent, disappointed, and 
comparatively uninteresting on such an occasion. 

After the patient has had about an hour's rest from 
the time the afterbirth was taken away, the nurse can 
begin to think about a change of personal and bed- 
clothing for her if need be. Quietly and carefully the 
mother can be moved so that things are slipped off 
and others on again; nothing should be done roughly 
or in haste ; there is any amount of time. Diapers 
can again be changed and plenty of others warmed 
ready for use. The nurse need not trouble to com- 
pletely wash the patient yet; it is not at all neces- 
sary. Nice fresh clothing is all that is required just 
now, for the patient's comfort and contentment. Of 
course the nurse will at the same time — and this is 
the proper time — moisten all the private parts of the 
mother with antiseptic solution on clean new flannel 
or lint. No sponge. And all appearance of haemor- 
rhage should also be cleared away from the buttocks 
and thighs. 

The mother is now rested, and she can take an in- 
terest in herself, turning over in bed cheerfully and 



i82 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

with some power of her own. Baby has been washed 
and dressed, and the mother much wants it in bed be- 
side her, to warm it and fondle it, for never will she 
feel the thrill of motherhood and the glee of being in 
possession — of a portion of herself that is to grow 
and become one like her — as she does now. There is 
a sense of precious belonging and owning now present 
which only the mother with her new-born babe can 
possibly know. No riches, no parcel of jewelry could 
be priced and embraced like this little one; pink and 
pure, sweet and innocent, more of herself but partly 
of her husband — "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 

"Not in entire forgetfulness, 
And not in utter darkness, 
But trailing clouds of glory, do we come 
From God, who is our home; 
Heaven lies about us in our infancy." 

—WORDSWORTH. 



CHAPTER XX 



THE DOCTOR'S DUTIES 



One of the first things a doctor will do when he 
visits a woman taken, in labor is to ''make an examina- 
tion;'' but before doing so he must needs attend to 
two important things: he must previously cleanse 
and antiseptic his hands, and he must see that his pa- 
tient lies in the proper position in the bed for an ex- 
amination. Sometimes he will take his coat off soon 
after entering the bedroom, but he may wash his 
hands without, if he likes, however. Wives should 
not imagine that he is going to do something dread- 
ful just because he takes his coat oflF. Some are 
known to have been, afraid of this procedure. Now 
he wishes to make certain that his hands and nails are 
clean, even though he may have washed them short- 
ly before, and therefore he dips them in a solution 
ready made after his own fashion, by means of anti- 
septic tabloids, so that no germs or microbes shall be 
communicated by his hands to the parts of the pa- 
tient. It would be well if nurses and midwives, as 
well as wives themselves, realized how careful doctors 
are about their hands when attending confinements : 
they always make quite certain that they are absolute- 
ly purified before they touch a patient. 

While the doctor is thus preparing himself he will 
take thought for the various appliances and things 
necessary for use, and will generally ask the nurse if 

183 



i84 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

she has this or that in the room at hand. Then he 
will turn particular attention to his patient, and if she 
be walking about, he will try to learn the progress she 
has been making by asking a few questions. Some- 
times he will be able to judge, without making an ex- 
amination at once, whether the patient had better re- 
main on her feet a while or go to bed. When he 
thinks she should go to bed he asks her to do so, 
indicating the proper position she should lie in. She 
will turn over on her left side and remain near the 
right edge of the bed, having her head lying comfort- 
ably on a pillow. She must not be in the middle, or 
on the other side of the bed, because the doctor could 
not reach her there. He must always make his ex- 
aminations standing on the right-hand side of the 
bed, and with his right hand ; therefore this position 
of the patient is very necessary. The patient being 
on her left side, must also draw up her knees, so that 
the doctor's examining right hand may readily reach 
the parts concerned. 

Simple examinations during confinement should 
always be conducted while both the patient and the 
doctor's hand and fore-arm are entirely under the bed- 
clothes. It is important to observe that no exposure 
of the patient is made unless necessary, and it is in 
most cases not at all necessary until the child is ap- 
pearing. The doctor will deftly pass his hand under 
the clothing, and by means of his touch — which by 
practice is most accurate and unerring — he will be 
able to tell the state of the parts and the position in 
which the child lies. It is surprising to most women 
how quickly, quietly, and skilfully these examinations 
are made. 

The patient's feelings and comfort are most care- 
fully studied all the time, so that any unpleasantness 



THE DOCTOR'S DUTIES 185 

may be reduced as much as is possible under the cir- 
cumstances. A doctor quite understands how a 
woman will feel in such a condition, and he will dili- 
gently seek to lessen the disagreeable nature of his 
interference as much as he is able. He is humane, 
considerate, and a gentleman. The patient knows he 
is there to help her, and the distress she is in gener- 
ally makes her quite thankful for his presence, for she 
understands that no one else could do what he can 
to help her out of her suffering: he is the greatest 
friend in the world to her now, indeed a friend in sore 
need. 

After examining his patient in the manner above 
indicated, the doctor will be able to judge not only 
the way in which the child will be born, but the prob- 
able time it will show itself in the world. Both these 
bits of information will have their value ; they will 
enable the patient to take courage and to cheer up, if 
they are favorable ; for if the child is to be born soon, 
everyone will be glad — and even if later, then there 
is some satisfaction in the knowledge that it is on its 
way and coming as it ought to do — but they will also 
allow the doctor to decide whether he may go away 
for a time or not. He may be a very busy man, and 
have another case of confinement to which he would 
like to hasten and attend, and if the first one is likely 
to be several hours before giving birth, then there is 
no reason whatever, in a great many cases, why he 
should not leave her. He will always use his own 
careful judgment; if he thinks the patient will go on 
quite satisfactorily for a few hours, and should go on 
without any interference or assistance, then he will 
retire. Sometimes his presence might even be dis- 
advantageous, as mentioned in a former chapter ; there 
( are patients who go on» with their pains better when 



i86 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

left alone. He will be able to determine by exami- 
nation and questioning exactly how quickly the labor 
is progressing and how long he may safely leave his 
patient. 

Many cases require the constant attendance of the 
doctor, and he may, therefore, necessarily remain a 
very long time in a house with his patient, should 
she manifest dangerous or even slightly abnormal 
symptoms. Many weary night-hours has the doctor 
had to wait patiently over the bed of a woman who 
has given indicatioi that ^'things are not quite right." 
Perhaps, after a heavy day, he may be called up at 
midnight out of his bed, and will not return to it again 
till the same hour the next night ; watching, waiting, 
helping, comforting, he will remain at his post, tired 
and worn out, but not showing it, remaining cheerful 
and dutiful. One half of the world knows not the 
doings of the other half; and it is very certain that 
few know the hard and heroic work performed by doc- 
tors when others are at rest ; few dream of the 
amount of self-sacrifice and hardship nightly dis- 
played by these devotees to their work — while they 
have to appear cheerful, as though they had neither 
worry nor care. A hard-worked doctor is the hardest- 
worked man on the face of the earth ; mentally and 
physically he is often driven to his very last particle 
of energy; and he never experiences the intervals of 
freedom and peace which those following most other 
employments enjoy. No other human employment 
will lead as quickly to bald heads and grey hairs as 
that of the general medical practitioner. 

Cramps in the limbs may bother the patient; these 
may, however, be relieved to a great extent by mov- 
ing the legs slightly, now and then, and by keeping 
them well separated with something soft placed be- 



THE DOCTOR'S DUTIES 187 

tween them. The sensation will sometimes be en- 
tirely due to pressure on the nerves, higher up, and 
may in this case only be relieved by the termination 
of the labor pains. 

The doctor will know whether instruments are 
necessary to help to bring the child into the world. 
It is only natural for some patients to have a strong 
aversion to such means of assistance, but no patient 
ever knows what is the best to be done ; only the doc- 
tor can determine, and he is there to advise what he 
thinks necessary. 

Instruments are formidable weapons, but the value 
of them, and the simplicity of their use, is quite in- 
calculable. Beautifully made, they enable a child to 
be born which might not possibly see the light other- 
wise, and thus they save lives innumerable. Some 
kinds of instruments can be used without chloroform 
being administered, the patient not receiving much 
extra pain; but there are other kinds which necessi- 
tate previous deep insensibility before they can be 
manipulated to advantage. 

The commonest instruments used are known as 
forceps ; these consist of two blades which are passed 
on either side of the child's head, not hurting it in the 
least, but when pulled upon, merely helping to bring 
it down the passage. The mother need not be afraid 
of them if she should see t!iem, for they are not half 
so terrible as they appear. Patients have been known 
to shudder at the sight of them, and to lose heart. 
They may possibly leave a mark for a few hours on 
each side of the child's head; but this will very soon 
go away, and Nature has so fashioned the infant that 
no harm is done even though a good deal of force has 
been found necessary to bring it into the world. 
Mothers naturally do not like to see the little thing's 



i88 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

head apparently hurt, but they very soon find that it 
is not really so. 

In more serious cases of obstruction during labor, 
the child's head will possibly require to be diminished 
in size by instruments, and this of necessity will hard- 
ly permit it to live when born. It may be unfortunate 
when this procedure is found imperative, but one must 
not lose the mother's life whatever may happen. Some 
wrong positions of the child will be met by what is 
known as ''turning"; when the child is wrongly 
placed within its mother's womb, and when instru- 
ments would be of little use, the doctor may have to 
insert his hand and part of his arm within the womb 
and vagina, in order to bring down the child^s legs, 
and so enable it to be born without delay or further 
risk to the mother. This may seem a dreadful thing 
to have to do, but doctors are able to use their hands 
so deftly and skilfully that usually no harm is done 
to either mother or child in such cases. 

Should the passage or outlet of the mother be so 
small, or, on the other hand, should the child's head 
be so large, that a tear in the perineum takes place, 
then the doctor will perhaps find it necessary to put 
in some stitches, so that it may heal rapidly and leave 
no deficiency afterwards. Very small tears will unite 
of themselves, and only require rest and antiseptic 
cleanliness. Stitches are very easily and quickly in- 
serted, without much pain being felt by the patient, 
because the parts are already numbed by so much 
stretching. If the patient has been under chloroform 
during the labor pains, theui she is usually stitched 
before she quite returns to consciousness, and she 
therefore feels nothing of the operation. 

Neither the doctor nor nurse will douche the 
vagina after an ordinary labor. The moistures about 



THE DOCTOR'S DUTIES 189 

the passages are quite pure, and nothing is wanted 
further if the patient be healthy. After much use of 
hands or instruments in a complicated labor, douch- 
ing may be advisable. Nor will the nurse douche the 
patient at any time unless instructed by doctor for a 
particular reason. 

"The doctor's duties deftly done, 
Life's wonders — see them, now begun!" 

— STOWELL. 



CHAPTER XXI 

SELF-CONTROL OR CHLOROFORM? 

How did the parturient woman manage before 
chloroform was discovered? She could not have gone 
through childbirth so very badly. One is naturally 
disposed to argue, therefore, that more chloroform is 
used nowadays than there need be. Certain things 
become the fashion, and taking chloroform in confine- 
ment almost seems to be one of these. Most women 
know that under chloroform it is possible to go 
through a confinement and know nothing about it; 
many therefore think that they ought certainly to 
have it administered to them. But the question is: 
Ought chloroform to be given as often as it is on this 
account? Are there any disadvantages arising from 
its administration? Ought women to have chloro- 
form just whenever they like to ask for it? The pres- 
ent writer will answer No, to the first and last of these 
questions, and Yes, to the second one. 

There are times when chloroform is positively in- 
valuable — when certain instruments are used, or 
when the labor is one that aflfects the patient quite un- 
usually — or still further, when the patient is quite out 
of the normal in respect to her brain or nerves. But 
in ordinary normal cases it is absurd for a patient to 
wish for chloroform. Some readers might be inclined 
to think that everything should rest with the doctor; 
he, of course, would decide whether chloroform should 

190 



SELF-CONTROL OR CHLOROFORM ? 191 

be given or no. But many women will insist upon 
having it, no matter whether they think it is requisite 
or not, and they will only engage a doctor who will 
consent beforehand to give it. Such women have 
heard from their friends, who have declared they 
"never felt anything" under chloroform, and they are 
therefore anxious to go through the same comforta- 
ble kind of thing. 

The rule given in the present writer's book on "The 
Practice of Midwifery," concerning the administration 
of anaesthetics, is this : — "They should be employed in 
all cases where the doctor considers that the ultimate 
total results that will accrue to the patient will be better 
than they would be without them." It ought not to 
be a question whether the patient would like them or 
no, for what can the patient know? The doctor should 
be the one to decide ; surely he will do the best he can 
for his patient, when the same procedure is also best 
for himself! If the patient would make better prog- 
ress under chloroform, and if, altogether, she would 
benefit by it, he would certainly give it. He himself 
also profits by favorable results, remember. 

There are some very distinct reasons why chloro- 
form should not always be given just when the pa- 
tient likes to ask for it. It gives much greater trouble 
to the doctor; not that he minds trouble when he is 
paid well, but the administration is bound to be conducted 
at the expense of other useful and salutary assistance he 
might be giving at the same time; that is the point. A 
doctor cannot be doing everything at the same time ; 
if he be giving chloroform he cannot watch the prog- 
ress of the labor so well, nor will he be so ready to 
save a perineum from rupturing should the pains be 
too urgent. It would be all very well if women could 



192 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

afford to have two doctors ; perhaps chloroform might 
be given more frequently then ; but this book is in- 
tended for a large number of women who can only be 
attended by one — unless complications should unfor- 
tunately necessitate two. 

Women should endeavor to go through an ordinary 
confinement without chloroform — most certainly. 
Once had, always wanted ; until some are led to think 
that they could not live through a confinement with- 
out. Anaesthetics in quantity will cause a feeling of 
sickness and illness afterwards, which will render the 
patient liable to recover from the confinement more 
slowly. They may also be the indirect means of has- 
tening a confinement when it should not be hastened, 
for the doctor might think that a case would not go 
on satisfactorily if he continued to give chloroform 
for any length of time, and he might decide to get 
"the whole business over'' by using forceps. Taking 
into account one thing and another, at the same time 
that he is giving chloroform, he may think it better 
to bring matters to a rapid and painless end; where- 
as, if his patient had not clamored for chloroform, 
and had been content to leave matters to Nature, no 
instruments need have been used and no parts unduly 
injured or bruised. 

A woman was once told by a doctor, whom she was 
engaging to attend her in confinement, and who was 
asked at the same time to give chloroform, that she 
should certainly have chloroform if that were found 
necessary. She went away rejoicing that she would 
have it again, for she had had it in her four previous 
confinements under another doctor who had died, and 
she was determined that this new one should find it 
necessary. When the time came, however, he man- 
aged her so well with firmness and kindness, and en- 



SELF-CONTROL OR CHLOROFORM ? 193 

couraged her to exercise such self-conftrol, that she 
went through the confinement beautifully without 
chloroform, and she was surprised afterwards how 
trifling the event was compared with what slhe had 
supposed. She admitted that she felt so much better 
afterwards, and seemed to recover more quickly than 
she had done on former occasions. 

When the doctor finds that chloroform is necessary, 
the woman in. labor need not be in the least afraid of 
it, as some are. It is perfectly safe; much safer than 
when used for ordinary operations. When the pains are 
really abnormally distressing, or when the patient is tin- 
duly sensitive and cannot help being so, then the doctor may 
think it advisable to give whiffs whenever a pain is present, 
taking it away again between each one. And if instru- 
ments are necessary, the deepest insensibility may 
even be safely brought about. The pains are not to 
any great extent lessened in their effect in most cases, 
by chloroform ; they go on just the same ; but they 
are not in the least perceived when deeply under the 
influence, and they are only partly felt when a little 
under. 

There can be no rule answering whether chloro- 
form shall be administered or no. Every patient will 
have a right to demand whatever luxury she is willing 
to pay for. Kindness and skill on the part of the doc- 
tor will do a great deal towards securing a comforta- 
ble time for the patient, in any case, and it should be 
realized that such attributes are of the nature of very 
powerful anaesthetics themselves. 

"Sleep — O, blessed deliverance! 
Twice blessed, induced mystery, 
When sighs and suffering pray." 

—HUNT. 



CHAPTER XXII 

SOME DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED 

If a woman be pregnant with twins, she will prob- 
ably notice, or her friends will, that her size is extra 
large; but the mere size of the abdomen will by no 
means always indicate the presence of twins ; it may 
be due to other causes. Also the fact that twin children 
are nearly always less in size than single ones, shows 
that in many cases very little difference may be ob- 
served in the size of the pregnant abdomen. It is a 
fact that twin pregnancies are usually found out after 
the birth of the first child, as a rule ; the womb is still 
observed to be large after one child is born, and it is 
only then that the presence of another is suspected. 
If the doctor should have had occasion to make an 
examination of his patient, whether during the early 
months of pregnancy in order to settle the question 
whether she is pregnant or not, or at the commence- 
ment of labor, in order that he may learn the position 
of the child in the womb, then he would, of course, 
find if there were more than one there ; otherwise he 
would discover the presence of the second child in the 
womb after the first had been born, his suspicions be- 
ing then aroused by the size of the abdomen and per- 
haps also by the fact that there seemed to be some- 
thing unusual about the behavior of the afterbirth. 
The wife can never tell for certain, whether she is 
carrying twins or not ; only the doctor can tell before 
the birth, and he will be able to do so by listening for 

194 



SOME DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED 195 

the beat of two hearts, or by manipulating his pa- 
tient's abdomen and feeling the two there from the 
outside. 

Many women imagine they are carrying twins when 
they have really only one within them; but a far 
greater number never dream of two, and then get 
them. Only about once in 75 cases do women give 
birth to twins, and about once in 7,000 they bear trip- 
Jets. There are cases on record, however, in which 
women have brought forth as many as five at a birth. 
When more than one are born, they are smaller and 
more feeble children, as a rule, and very often death 
occurs to one, or each one, soon after birth. Some- 
times one is much larger than the other, or others. 

Though there is generally little difficulty experi- 
enced in bringing the two into the world by the 
mother, unaided by special means, in a twin labor, 
the first being small and preparing the way for the 
second, it now and then occurs that the womb has not 
the strength to express the second child, on account 
of the extra strain which has been put upon, it by the 
presence of two instead of one. Therefore instru- 
ments must occasionally be used in order to deliver 
the second child. As a rule the second is born quick- 
ly, because the passages are open; if the patient be 
left alone after the birth of the first, in an hour or two 
the second will almost certainly come of itself. Very 
rarely, however, if a doctor have not attended the 
case, the second remains a day or two. The afterbirths 
may come away when both children have beeen born, 
or one may follow after the other, according as they 
happen to be separate or united together in the womb. 

It is a great mistake for women to ever anticipate 
the bearing of a deformed child. She should invariably 
expect the best. 



196 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

It may be worth reminding the reader that haemor- 
rhage may be severe in the case of twins, and if a doc- 
tor be not present, the midwife had better be a very 
capable and self-possessed one. 

When, a child is passing down the passage from the 
womb properly, in labor, its head is forced onwards 
in such a manner that the smallest and most cone- 
shaped portion of it goes first. The head moves and 
turns in such a remarkable manner, to agree with 
the curved inner surfaces of the pelvic cavity and the 
vaginal passage, that the upper and back portion of 
it is always directed towards the outlet; being the 
smallest, this part of the head is therefore the best 
to lead the way, and so open, out the passage. Let this 
comparison be made, that if a person wishes to pass a 
pigeon's egg out of the mouth, the broad side of it 
would not be oflFered to the lips first, but the small 
end, for so it would come out easier. 

There is a right way and a wrong, even, for a child 
to come into the world. Sometimes the head will get 
turned in the wrong direction, either before starting 
down on its journey or while going through the 
passages. There is certain to be some delay if this 
occur, and the doctor may require to use mstruments 
in order to eflfect delivery. It has been pointed out in 
a former chapter how the bones of a woman in labor 
may obstruct the head of the child in its passage, and 
how it is necessary to reduce the size of its head in 
order that it may be abstracted through the natural 
passage ; bone deformities may deflect the head to a 
con.siderable extent, placing it in a most unfavorable 
position, and rendering a natural birth quite impossi- 
ble. If the reader could only make a study of the 
beautiful mechanism of labor, as doctors are obliged 
to do, she would then know how marvellously she is 



SOME DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED 197 

built in the region of the pelvis, and how wonderfully 
her child is fashioned to agree with her own anatomy, 
that all may render birth as easy and safe as possible. 

But not only may a child's head be placed in a 
wrong position for passing in labor; the whole child 
may be upside down, the legs and buttocks in a posi- 
tion for making their appearance in the world first. 
The reader may take it as certain that if any part of 
the child should first present itself which is not the 
head, then there will be much difficulty and delay in 
the labor. The head is the most suitable portion to 
com.e first ; it is so designed by Nature ; round, some- 
what hardened, yet capable of yielding on every side, 
it is shaped exactly suitably and perfectly. Anything 
else but the head coming first is bound to act as a 
comparatively poor leader and guide. 

When the breech — as the legs and buttocks are 
termed — presents, plenty of time must be given for 
the mother's parts to dilate. The legs of the child are 
doubled-up on themselves when it is in such a posi- 
tion, and the breech is pushed onwards by degrees, 
bringing the legs into a position that may be reached 
and pulled down by the doctor. The child may be 
born by itself in this position, however, after a long 
time ; but it is far better that the doctor should help it 
down by getting hold of the legs and gently pulling 
upon them. The head, which is the part to come 
easiest when it is foremost, is, in a breech case, the 
very part to come away with the greatest difficulty. 
The doctor will be obliged to exercise a good deal of 
skill in getting the head out, manipulating it in such 
a manner that no injury may be done to the neck ; the 
reader will quite well understand that the coned back 
of a child's head could be pushed through an aperture 
comparatively easily, but that upside-down the jaws 



198 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

and base of the head would prevent its being drawn 
through anything like as easily. Midwives ought 
never to manipulate in the case of breech presenta- 
tions. I have seen cases in which the legs have been 
pulled upon unskillfully and untimely, tears of the 
inner parts resulting which have done grievous and last- 
ing injury. 

''Shoulder'' or ''transverse'' presentations are the 
least likely of all to end satisfactorily without assist- 
ance from a doctor. In such cases — which are spoken 
of by mothers as "cross-births" — the child has not 
occupied the usual position in the womb, with its head 
down and its legs folded up, but has become horizon- 
tal, having its head to one side of the mother and its 
legs to the other. In this condition, after the mother 
has been in labor a long time, one shoulder will get 
forced down into the passage, and an arm will even 
protrude, if the doctor have not seen the case early 
enough. 

Having found that the child is lying in this crossed 
position, the doctor will find it necessary to eflfect 
what is kown as "turning." He will alter the position 
of the child, so that the legs may come down first and 
the rest afterwards, the head coming last. Although 
the head is the best part to present first in the ordi- 
nary way, in the case of turning a cross-position it 
will usually be easier to bring down the legs first. 
Midwives will wait too long sometimes before they 
send for a doctor in such cases ; when, a labor seems 
tedious, they will often wait and wait, until an arm 
may be actually protruding when the doctor arrives. 
Of course, the longer such cases are left to themselves, 
the more difficult will it be for a doctor to put mat- 
ters right and deliver the child ; and the more danger- 
ous will it be for both mother and child. 



SOME DIFFICULTIES EXPLAINED 199 

Crossed presentations occur in about one in 150 or 
200 cases. The cause of the displacement cannot 
always be made out, but deformity of the pelvic bones 
is a common one; probably some severe fall or jolt 
may be the means in some instances. 

If a labor promise to occupy a long time, then there 
are certainly faults somewhere, either in the mother 
or in the child. The mother may herself be either de- 
formed, or not have sufficient strength; or the child 
may be deformed or wrongly placed within the womb. 
The consequences of great delay may be serious, and 
bring considerable risk to both mother and child. Af- 
ter being in labor for a long time without giving birth 
to the child the mother will eventually become ex- 
hausted. She may even die after a very long time. 
Such an unfortunate occurrence is only likely to hap- 
pen, however, in districts or countries where doctors 
are either very scarce or cannot be procured at all. The 
womb in time loses its power; the greater the resist- 
ance presented to its action, the greater will be the 
contractions to overcome such; only up to a certain 
time will it continue laboring, however ; it will begin 
to fail in its work ere long, and then the child can 
only be born after skilled assistance has been ren- 
dered. 

There is not so much danger likely to follow long 
delay before the "waters have broken" as there is af- 
terwards. It is when the head of the child is being forced 
through the vaginal passage that delay will cause most 
harm. Such delay will always be prevented by the 
doctor, if he is called soon enough; he will readily de- 
liver the child by means of forceps. 

General debility in the mother will possibly lead to 
what doctors call inertia of the womb — that is, a loss 



200 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

of power in it. Poorly-fed women, and those who 
have suffered from a succession of illnesses, will 
often, require the doctor's special and perhaps instru- 
mental assistance, on account of absence of *'pains/' 
Over-distension of the womb, as by complicating ab- 
normality, will also render it deficient in strength. 

A tedious — or even impossible — labor may also be 
caused by an unusually large child being developed in 
a small mother. If the disproportion be so great that 
the child cannot be born naturally, through the proper 
passage, or if the doctor should consider that all other 
methods of delivery would not be likely to give sat- 
isfactory results, under the conditions present, then 
he is justified in performing an operation, previously 
mentioned, namely, the name of Caesarean Section, in 
which an opening is made in the front of the body be- 
low the navel, through which the child is taken.. 

In the proportion of about one in 2,000 deliveries 
the foetus will develop an unusually large head, 
through "water coming on the brain.'' This will nat- 
urally cause delay in labor. Sometimes the water 
will burst away under the strain of "paining," and the 
labor may then proceed, but very often the doctor will 
find it necessary to puncture the head and let out the 
water before delivery can be effected. It would be a 
very good thing if the child should die, under these 
circumstances, either of itself, or on account of the 
operation, for it really ought never to be permited to 
develop into an adult with a head of this kind. 

"Light will repay 
The wrongs of night; 
Sweet Phosphor bring the day!" 

— QUARLBS. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
THE FEW DAYS AFTER LABOR 

Before leaving his patient the doctor will congratu- 
late her, and promise to pay another visit in a few 
hours' time, to see how she is progressing. He will 
turn to the nurse and tell her to be sure and let him 
know at once if there is too much haemorrhage. He 
will return in about six or seven hours' time, if he can 
do so conveniently, and the mother will expect him, 
for she will wish to be satisfied that all is going well 
If the confinement has taken place late the night be- 
fore, he will visit his patient the following morning. 
He will have given instructions about diet before go- 
ing away, after the birth ; and on his first visit after- 
wards he will give further indications, supplementing 
his instructions every day that he calls, according as 
he thinks fit in each case. 

The food after confinement should be quite light; 
heavy food is not necessary for a patient lying in bed, 
and it could not well be borne ; it would also tend to 
increase any little feverishness that might occur, either 
on account of a difficult and protracted labor, or on 
account of the mother's milk secretion. A milk diet 
is the best; boiled milk and bread, oatmeal gruel, plain 
biscuits sopped in milk, tea and toast, may be taken 
the first two days. If the patient should appear to be 
very well in every way a boiled egg may also be taken 

201 



202 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

on the second day, or a little boiled fish with bread. 
She will not starve on low diet, and will make up for 
any loss very rapidly later on. On the third or fourth 
day, all being well, a little chicken, or a small helping 
of meat with vegetables, could be taken. After this 
the mother may return to a plain ordinary diet. The 
doctor will give instructions regarding any special 
diet, according as he finds it necessary, each day. Any 
feverishness or trouble with the breasts may require 
special dieting and medicine. As regards the tem- 
perature of food, a good rule is that nothing very hot 
and nothing cold should be taken. It was formerly 
the custom to starve a patient confined, for eight or 
ten days, but now we consider such a procedure quite 
unnecessary. 

The amount and kind of stimidants that a woman should 
take after labor, and during the following months of lacta- 
tion, will depend very much upon zvhat she has been accus- 
tomed to previously. After labor she should take less 
than before, and of a lighter kind ; none at all the first 
three days is best for those who can do without; 
should there be great weakness and exhaustion fol- 
lowing, alcoholic stimulants may be given quite as a 
medicine and without delay. But it is a dangerous 
idea for a woman to possess that stimulants are the 
best and only thing to resort to whenever she feels 
weary and worn out. for they may take such a hold 
upon her as may be difficult or almost impossible to 
shake oflf. They are all very well in their way, but 
the indications must always be carefully distinguished 
and limited. 

Women who never take stimulants at ordinary 
times may possibly require medicinal doses on the 
advice of their doctor after labor — it may be on ac- 
count of loss of blood or general debility; but if one 



THE FEW DAYS AFTER LABOR 203 

were to judge from observing a large number of cases, 
normally constituted women who take none at all 
either before, during, or after a favorable confinement 
are the most fortunate of all. Those who do not want 
stimulants; those who are not advised to take them, 
are to be congratulated ; they have much to be thank- 
ful for. The doctor's duty is very difficult to per- 
form in the question of taking stimulants. He so 
often finds it necessary to fight popular and unedu- 
cated opinion — to the end that he may succeed in mak- 
ing himself objectionable. It is not uncommon for 
patients and friends to act on their own opinions, not- 
withstanding, in the case of "taking a little drop of 
stout," whether it might be scientifically necessary or 
not. It will be almost hopeless for a medical man to 
forbid stimulants while so many friends around advise 
that they themselves formerly derived so much bene- 
fit from them. 

The doctor will inquire whether his patient has 
passed water when he pays his first visit after the 
birth. Probably she will have done so within- four 
or five hours. Should any difficulty be experienced, 
the best way to perform this necessary function is for 
the patient to turn over on her hands and knees — not 
rearing the body up at all in the erect posture to cause 
weight or pressure downwards — and to have the bed 
pan passed under her. The patient should on no ac- 
count leave the bed or assume the upright position ; 
she should remain as horizontal as possible for the 
reasons given in Chapter X. If the doctor finds that 
water has not been passed he will give instructions ac- 
cordingly, or, if necessary, he will draw it off himself 
quite easily and comfortably, by means of a little tube 
which he has for the purpose. Only rarely is there 
much difficulty in passing water; possibly there may 



204 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

be after a first labor which has caused a good deal of 
bruising and swelling of the parts. 

Sometimes what are named "after-pains'' are rather 
troublesome for the first day or two following labor. 
They are caused by intermittent contractions of the 
womb. This organ will rapidly diminish in size after 
delivering its contents, and it will do so by the inter- 
mittent compressing together of its walls ; thus it will 
harden so much as to be easily felt from outside, soft- 
ening again to some extent between each pain and 
diminishing in size by degrees. Every woman must 
have these "after-pains " to a certain extent ; they are 
quite necessary, and they indicate the satisfactory 
closure and reduction in size of the womb, as well as 
its power to expel any blood clots that remain. They 
are not usually noticed much or complained of unless 
severe, and they are likely to be the most severe the 
larger the clots are to expel. They are often found to 
be more severe also when the pains of labor have not 
been strong, curiously enough, or when the womb has 
been distended larger than usual. 

Women should be encouraged to bear a certain 
amount of "after-pains.'' Nothing will help them like 
time ; they will soon disappear ; Nature must perform 
her difficult and perfect work, and she must have time 
to do it ; medicines may hasten in some instances, and 
in some ways, but they will generally give some un- 
toward results in other directions. Pain killers, for 
instance, may be all very well in their way, but they 
sicken and reduce the general health unless taken 
mildly. The doctor will prescribe harmless draughts 
if the "after-pains" are really very severe, and espe- 
cially if the patient's rest be interfered with ; but he 
will consider that the less medicine of an opiate or 



THE FEW DAYS AFTER LABOR 205 

narcotic nature the better, in all cases, if all round 
rapid recovery is desired. 

The mother need not expect much milk in her 
breasts until the third day in the case of a first con- 
finement — if she be anxious to feed the child on the 
breast, and she ought to be — sometimes both she and 
the nurse are too eager to find a good supply on the 
first or second day. If there have been previous con- 
finements the milk will make its appearance earlier, 
possibly on the first day. 

The patient should remain in bed for not less than 
ten days, whether she seem well enough or not. No 
greater mistake could be made than getting up too 
soon after childbirth. It often results in a falling of 
the womb, a condition that is rarely ever recovered 
from completely. Once a womb comes down, though 
it may be put back again by the doctor, there is al- 
ways a tendency for it to come down on some future 
occasion, whenever the mother gets low in general 
health, for instance. It is true that when it is placed 
back in position early, and kept up by an instrument 
for a time, there may be little trouble with it in the 
future ; but it is much better that it should never be allowed 
to come down at all. The reader should turn back to 
Chapter X., and read once again carefully, if she wish 
to learn, the reason why time is well spent in bed after 
childbirth. Recovery must be gradual ; it cannot be 
hastened to any appreciable extent by any means 
whatsoever. If after ten days in bed the patient seems 
sufficiently well she may get up and loosely dress, in 
order to sit in an easy chair an hour or so the first 
day. The length of time should be increased a little 
each day. She should not dress and go about as 
though she had been just released from some mean- 
ingless bondage, but should commence the second 



2o6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

period of treatment for recovery, that in which the 
legs are only used just to walk about the room and no 
more. If haemorrhage should occur afterwards, or 
any other condition that requires further rest in bed, 
her doctor will delay her getting up for-a day or two, 
and adopt treatment accordingly. 

The question of the bowels after confinement must 
be considered. If they do not move of themselves, on 
the morning of the third day a dose of castor oil, pre- 
ferably, should be given in milk, coflfee, or some taste- 
ful drink, and taken — a tablespoonful, more or less, 
according to the usual disposition of the bowels. If 
this should fail to act, an enema should be adminis- 
tered. Pills are not good, and usually act unfavorably 
on the infant. After the third day the diet should be 
regulated so as to ensure regular natural daily mo- 
tions. If the mother cannot suckle the child, then the 
kind of opening medicine taken is not material. A 
bed pan should be used for movement of the bowels. 

The reader has beeui repeatedly reminded in fore- 
going chapters of the fact that tne recumbent posture 
is valuable as a curative measure, at several periods 
of a woman's existence, and she has also been in- 
formed the reason why it is so. And now it will be 
easily perceived that the time when this rest-posture 
is the most valuable of all must be after labor, when 
there is so much flabbiness and disarrangement of 
parts — and when tears may have taken place. An 
animal can walk about after labor because of the posi- 
tion of its body, and the position of the womb within 
the body ; but a woman must lie down for some tirrie. 
Her internal arrangements and private parts must re- 
cover to a certain extent before the body is reared up 
to the erect posture, and before great weight is thrown 
down into the cavity, or else serious trouble may re- 



THE FEW DAYS AFTER LABOR 207 

suit, which may affect a woman's health and comfort 
for the rest of her days. 

The reader might wonder how it is that some 
women can walk and even work soon after labor; in- 
stances of patients having done so come before doc- 
tors occasionally, and now and again they may be read 
of in the daily papers — ^we have studied already one 
example. S''6veral points may be given in explana- 
tion. 

When lab®ring under fear or great trouble human 
beings will do many things which they would not 
dream of attempting in the ordinary way. Not only 
will women who are pregnant, and who proceed to 
labor, suffer the greatest agonies in silence, in order 
to conceal their condition, should it be illegitimate 
and one to be ashamed of, but men as well as women 
will similarly endure suffering of a different nature, 
unknown to anyone but themselves, if such suffering 
revealed would indicate that they had been doing 
what they ought not to have done. The case of a 
boy is remembered, who had the skin taken off the 
palm of one hand th-f-ough the blazing up of some gun- 
powder which he Jiad stolen; this boy suffered dread- 
fully before the condition of his hand was found out. 
Other instances are called to mind of patients having 
endured the most excruciating punishment, from the 
effects of certain diseases to private parts, for in- 
stance, sooner than "give themselves away" to either 
their relatives or even to their doctor; and the truth 
would never have been known in their case had the 
sufferers been able to treat themselves successfully, 
before either utter prostration or some particular signs 
of specific ailment had led others to be convinced that 
some disordered state of the health existed. Such pa- 
tients have been obliged to state the facts of the case 



2o8 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

in the end, to someone, or allow them to be discovered 
by the doctor, when, they have become bedridden, or 
after they had fallen down in a faint somewhere. 

It must not, therefore, be imagined that such young 
women as have been known to give birth to a child, 
and to go about afterwards as though nothing had 
happened, have suffered nothing — both at the time 
and some time afterwards. Possibly they have en- 
dured a great deal of pain and anguish ; but they have 
not shown it to the same extent others would do under 
legitimate circumstances. But on the other hand, in 
some instances, it is true, they have also had good 
constitutions and strength ; they have been well fed 
and cared for, and their physical condition has been 
such as has enabled them to recover from the effects 
of childbirth more quickly than a good many other 
women would. Such may almost be compared with 
savage women, most of whom are able to live through 
the last stages of pregnancy in precisely the same 
maniuer as they do the earlier ones, such a condition 
making practically no difference to them. Savage 
women will perceive the time of their delivery almost 
as an animal does, taking it as a matter of course, and 
instinctively submitting to the incident with very lit- 
tle thought or feeling of distress compared with what 
more civilized women will show ; they will retire into 
a secluded part of the forest, or behind some bush, to 
give birth, soon to return rejoicing with their baby. 
Now, some servant girls are really not much better 
than bush wVDmen, either in intelligence, or general 
sensitiveness, or common understanding; they may 
also be just as hardy and as physically fit ; hence some 
remarkable cases the reader has heard and read of. 

It must therefore be remembered that human be- 
ings differ so much from one another ; all women must 



THE FEW DAYS AFTER LABOR 209 

not suppose that because certain of their sex are able 
to bring forth a child under the simplest and easiest 
circumstances, that all others ought to be able to do 
the same. Some cases of concealed birth reported in 
newspapers are indeed extraordinary, and that is just 
why they are reported; they belong to the greatest 
exceptions, and should give no indication of what 
women in general are able to do or ought to do. 

During the first three days after delivery not even 
sitting-up should be allowed. If the abdominal con- 
tents are forced down upon the tender womb and pel- 
vic parts too early, then undue haemorrhage will be 
likely to occur as well as displacement downwards of 
the womb itself; this cannot be too often insisted 
upon. After the third day the patient may sit up in 
bed a few minutes occasionally, being propped up by 
pillows ; but the less this is done the better, at present. 
"Just a little change" is naturally longed for; but pa- 
tience will pay. All will be well in a little time. 

This particular question of remaining in bed after 
labor has been touched upon in a previous chapter, 
and all that need be mentioned further regarding the 
posture or first movements of the mother is this : that 
she should not walk downstairs for at least two weeks 
after confinement — ^and then onl)'- slowly and care- 
fully. In walking downstairs every step taken will 
jolt the abdomen and its contents, putting extra 
pressure upon the womb. Remember that in the hor- 
izontal position the abdomen would be carried evenly 
and without any downward jerking. The wife should 
therefore be carried downstairs by her husband, with 
the help of a strong nurse if necessary. It also fol- 
lows that when out-of-doors she should leave any con- 
veyance in which she should happen to have been rid- 
ing without being jolted, by being helped out or by 



2IO THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

walking down to the path on an incline. These in- 
structions may possibly appear to be quite unneces- 
sary to some; but if women only knew how many of 
their sex suffered from disease and displacements of 
the womb through simple carelessness after confine- 
ment, they would know how essential it is to have 
some knowledge of what routine is the best to follow 
under average and ordinary circumstances. It would 
of course be quite imipossible to refer to all exceptions 
in a book of this kind ; the best steps to be taken for 
the majority of women is what is advised in these 
pages ; and though they might appear elaborate to 
those who are health-hardened and consequently in- 
different, they will pay handsomely for following out 
in every instance. // is always best to lean on the safe 
side after confinement. Nothing may happen, but some- 
thing might; it is easy to create complications of dis- 
order, but it is often hard to recover from them. A 
day or two more in bed when in doubt, and care 
throughout, may save many weeks' suffering. 

"Domestic Happiness, thou only bliss 
Of Paradise that has survived the fall!" 

— COWPER. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 

The proper food for a newly-born babe is that pro- 
vided by its mother from her own self. The young 
of most animals derive their first sustenance from 
their mothers by means of suction from what anato- 
mists call mammae, or milk-glands ; it is on account of 
this fact that the term mammalian has been given to 
describe the order in Nature to which they belong. 

We have seen that the human foetus grows within 
the mother an,d depends upon her for its development ; 
we know how it is born, and how the cord of attach- 
ment is cut separating mother and child, necessitating 
dependence upon other means of sustenance from 
that moment. It cannot take the food for adults; it 
must still belong to the mother even though birth 
have separated it; it will now have the advantage of 
another kind of attachment to her, as it were, through 
the medium of her breasts^ not constantly but inter- 
mittently, so that it shall live and properly develop. 

Though human beings evolved to such an extent 
that they soon departed, in innumerable ways, from 
every other animal, in structure and in function, leav- 
ing all a very long distance behind, yet woman never 
evolved away her breasts; she has retained them for 
the natural purpose of providing food for her young. 
Let the reader think for a moment how different all 
animals are compared with mankind, and yet how 
similar the provisions are that remain for the first 

211 



212 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

feeding of offspring. The mammae or breasts, and 
the teats or nipples are there still in remarkable simi- 
larity, showing how Nature saw, that, however much 
mankind left the animal world behind and developed 
into the highest and best of living creatures, the 
breasts should remain as the best medium through 
which the young might be reared. 

Among animals the mammary or milk-glands will 
be found somewhere along the lower part of their 
body; they may be near the hind legs as in cows, or 
they may be between the fore legs as in elephants ; or 
yet again, they may run in pairs a good distance along 
the lower pendulous border of their body, between the 
fore and hind legs. The female of human beings de- 
velops breasts most conveniently situated, and come 
to occupy a position in front of the chest in the erect 
position. 

The above comparison with animals is given more 
particularly to show that, in spite of vast differences 
which obtain between human beings and animals, in 
anatomy, function, habit, and sense, yet evolution has 
left the original feeding glands to provide for woman's 
offspring. The breasts are there, and they secrete 
milk, and it is intended that this milk should be used. 
They were not made for ornament, though they are 
ornamental when rightly developed — as are all the 
obvious parts of the human anatomy — they were not 
left there by mistake, while evolution worked its way ; 
they were created for use. It is all the more deplor- 
able that the better and richer classes should be the 
chief offenders — who should know so much better 
than the poorer what is the right course to adopt. It 
should be every woman's chief privilege not only 
to bring a child into the world but to feed and tend 
it properly. It is an insult to the great Creator, who 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 213 

has made woman as she is, not to do His bidding. It 
is a wicked offence towards a child. It is unnatural. 

Many women appear to have the belief at the pres- 
ent day that their breasts were not intended for use, 
and when they have given birth to a child they reso- 
lutely refuse to feed it in the natural way. This is an 
unfortunate position for any woman to hold, unfor- 
tunate for herself and particularly unfortunate for her 
child. There may be some special reasons why cer- 
tain mothers should not feed their infants on the 
breasts, however; they may not have any milk, or 
their health might possibly suffer from supplying their 
infant ; but unless there is some very definite reason 
why a woman should not feed her child naturally — 
not a reason of vanity or inconvenience, remember — 
she should do so in duty, firstly, towards herself, and 
secondly, much more towards her own offspring, but 
even thirdly, towards posterity in general. Those who 
look upon children as a nuisance and an unfortunate 
bother should never have exposed themselves to the 
chance of possessing them ; only women who intend 
bringing up their children in a natural and right way 
ought to own them. 

Nearly all the aVments and troubles from which babies 
suffer are caused by wrong feeding. If they were only 
fed on their mother's milk — if it could be possible for 
every child to be brought up so — we should soon see 
a healthier and stronger race of adults in humanity. 
If infants suffer for months or years from want of 
proper food, how can they be expected to develop into 
sound and creditable adults? And unsound adults 
live to beget still more unsound offspring! If only 
negligent women knew the great mistake they were 
making ! Should it ever become the fashion and pride 
of women to naturally feed their infants, only medical 



214 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

men know well what an immense difference this 
would make in the physical fitness of posterity. 

But the present writer has often enough tried to 
point out to mothers that feeding their infant '*on the 
breast" gives other advantages beside the one just re- 
ferred to. Naturally-fed infants cause so much less 
trouble and anxiety to their parents; they sleep well at 
nights, and enable their mothers to rest also. They 
cry very little, and, as a rule, are beautifully *'thriv- 
ing" and comfortable. Many mothers suffer nights 
of restlessness and worry, for many months on end, 
simply because their child is being fed on wrong food; 
and of course their days must be full of weariness and 
misery also. Women may well complain that babies 
are undesirable, when each one they have causes the 
trouble of three put together — simply on account of 
artificial feeding. 

Feeding ''on the breast" gives still another advan- 
tage to the mother : it helps, by some sympathetic ac- 
tion, to restore the womb to its normal condition after 
childbirth. 

If a woman have not much milk, then she is advised 
to give her infant what she can. A little is better than 
none, if it is right in quality. There are special in- 
stances in which the mother should not feed her child 
on the breast at all, it is true ; but many who do not 
feel strong, and who imagine that ceasing to suckle 
the child will tend to improve their health and save 
their strength, often find that they are worse than ever 
when they stop, more on account of the child's irri- 
tability and restlessness than anything else. 

There should be nothing to be ashamed of in feed- 
ing a child on the breast. A woman ought to be only 
too thankful when she were able. There are many 
who dislike this "nursing" because it interferes with 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AX INFANT 215 

their social and gay life ; the same dispositions have 
been angry, from the first, that they ever became 
pregnant. But sorrow will be theirs in the end, de- 
pend upon it. They are likely to reap experiences of 
much misery in the future, of some kind or other. Per- 
haps they will have a family of six or seven, each of 
which is obviously puny or ill-developed, always ap- 
pearing sickly and requiring the doctor, and reflecting 
no credit at all on their still vain, parents. Such 
women live to be ashamed of their grown-up sons and 
daughters in very many instances, their older vanity 
constantly being injured to the very end. 

If a mother have no milk at all it is no use putting 
the child to the breast, of course. Evidence of con- 
sumption or any other specific disease in the mother 
would also lead the doctor to advise cessation of 
breast-feeding. Disease of the breast itself, or nip- 
ples, or even very sore nipples, will occasionally ne- 
cessitate artificial feeding — although a mother ought 
not to suffer from sore nipples if proper attention has 
been paid them. 

If the confinement be the first, there will be scarcely 
any milk until the third day. The infant may try to 
suckle before, now and again, if it should please the 
mother, and if there should appear an early chance of 
milk. But no persistent efforts should be made before 
the third day. 

If the confinement be not the first, the infant may 
be placed to its mother's breast within ten or twelve 
hours after being born, when the mother has had 
plenty of rest, and has got thoroughly used to her lit- 
tle pet beside her. Thus it may try the nipples twice 
or three times each day until the third, when the sup- 
ply will be greatly increased : then it may have some 
every two hours at first ; after the second month every 



2i6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

three, and later four, but always regularly, and as 
little in the night as possible. The funny custom of 
giving the infant some sugar and butter, or something 
of this kind, before it takes the mother's breast is not 
advised. Such things do no good. 

The baby should be put to both breasts each time 
it is fed, if they are about the same size. The milk 
is formed within the breasts, and it runs along little 
canals which are directed towards the nipple. Some- 
times this passage of the milk is slightly obstructed, 
and very gentle rubbing in the direction of the nipples 
may be required ; or it may be necessary to draw milk 
through a breast-glass if the child cannot get it at first. 
The first milk drawn acts as an aperient on the infant 
— a wonderful provision of Nature. When the milk 
is too abundant, it is a good plan to have the bowels 
very freely moved each day, and to take as little to 
drink as possible of any kind ; it will run away itself 
when the breasts get too full, and will scarcely re- 
quire drawing away by means of a breast-glass unless 
there is much pain from tension. 

If scanty, the quantity may be increased if the 
mother take plenty to eat and drink. A generous diet 
should be taken, and very little in the way of stimu- 
lants, if the mother has been previously accustomed 
to them, and if it should appear that she is not so well 
when they are taken oflF. Worry and anxiety will 
cause dyspepsia and a poor appetite, and milk may be 
secreted in only small quantities as a consequence. 
There are no drugs to be taken which will produce 
milk, unfortunately, or we might be certain of nat- 
ural food in good quantity oftener than we are. Or- 
dinary healthy habits of living, and freedom from 
harassing and too hard work, are more important than 
anything. 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 217 

If a mother should decide to feed her infant artifi- 
cially for some very special reason, when she has a 
good supply of milk, then she should not allow her 
nipples to be sucked from the first. It is a mistake to 
put the baby on the breast for a day or two and then 
to leave off, for this so often leads to abscess of the 
breast; milk secretion subsides quicker and with less 
trouble when the breasts have not been drawn upon 
at all. Neither should they be rubbed or handled 
roughly by anyone. The less done to them in the 
way of moving or handling the better. If they are 
painful, absolute rest is the most essential thing for 
them'; and in order to secure this they should be sus- 
pended in well-arranged handkerchiefs passed over 
the opposite shoulders, so that they do not hang pain- 
fully or drag downwards. A little glycerine and bella- 
donna may be painted — not rubbed, mind — on each 
breast every day for a time. Belladonna plasters are 
not so good ; they often cause discomfort and do not 
yield properly either to extra distension or relaxation 
of the breast; they are also very disadvantageous if 
inflammation or an abscess should occur beneath 
them. 

Sometimes a mother has a .good quantity of milk, 
but the quality of it is poor. Thin, watery milk will 
occasionally run away of itself, and is a sign, of de- 
fective general health. In the latter event the child 
should be weaned ; and if the milk still runs away, the 
breasts should, as before, be carefully supported and 
somewhat compressed by an arrangement of large 
handkerchiefs, while glycerine and belladonna is ap- 
plied. The doctor will be able to give certain medi- 
cines which are valuable for the purpose of stopping 
the flow, and indeed, he ought in any case to be con- 
sulted about the general health. Perhaps ordinary 



2i8 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

tonics recommended by friends would not be either 
suitable or sufficient to restore strength. 

It is extremely important to remember that the 
nipples at all times should be taken proper care of. 
The reader may be surprised at this, perhaps, and 
think that such trifling things might very well take 
care of themselves. Let this advice be taken, how- 
ever, that it will pay to attend to the nipples con- 
stantly from the very conception. 

Cracked and sore nipples, or abscess of the breast, 
would rarely — if ever — occur if the nipples were 
treated in the manner I am about to describe. Both 
should always be carefully dried and cleansed by the 
nurse — or mother herself, if the nurse be not suffi- 
ciently intelligent and thoughtful — and the best time 
of all is just after feeding the baby. There is a proper 
way to perform this operation, and there are also the 
right things to use. Some tepid water containing 
boracic acid should be supplied (about half a tea- 
spoonful to a basin half full) and some perfectly clean 
linen or fresh lint. No dirty fabric should be used — 
not a sponge — in fact nothing which has been used 
for anything else — but simply something white, soft, 
and clean. Then each nipple should be taken in 
turn and gently swabbed with the solution, care be- 
ing taken that little fissures and folds are opened out 
and cleansed, for it is just these places that are likely 
to be missed, and which may develop into open cracks 
and sore places. Plenty of solution should be gently 
passed over each section of the nipple — not really 
rubbed on, but applied, in order to simply cleanse and 
not chafe or injure. 

If the above instructions are carried out properly — 
and the time occupied need onl)^ be a minute — the 
nipples will remain quite as they should be. If the 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 219 

milk is given to running away of itself a good deal, 
then the nipples had better be washed even before the 
child feeds, and rather oftener altogether. Pure and 
sound nipples will often prevent mouth troubles in 
the infant ; and on the other hand, an unhealthy mouth 
will necessitate extra attention to the nipples. 

A loose corset and gentle massage of the nipple 
will be good for a few weeks before the birth of a 
child, as mentioned in an early chapter. A nipple- 
guard may even be worn to prevent undue pressure 
of clothing. If the nipples are very tender, they may 
be dabbed with spirit or solution of tannin after wash- 
ing, which will harden them. A good deal of pains 
should be taken to bring the nipples into greater 
prominence, so that the child may have its mother's 
milk, while the suckling may be helped a good deal 
by gently pressing towards the nipple with one finger 
on the breast above and the other below. Depressed 
nipples should not be left as though nothing could be 
done, as is often the case. By exercise and a little 
trouble they can be made more prominent. They 
should be drawn out by a breast-glass frequently dur- 
ing the day, and also just before the child is put to 
them. Perseverance will often succeed where the 
chances seem at first hopeless. If the child really 
cannot suck, after every trial has been made and all 
patience exercised, then it is not advisable that it 
should continue to suck through a glass nipple-shield 
with india rubber nipple; it is better to feed it artifi- 
cially altogether in. this case ; mother's milk ought 
either to be taken directly by the mouth applied to 
her own nipple or not at all. Only in the event of the 
infant being born too weak to suckle should it have 
milk drawn for it from the breasts, until it is strong 
enough to suckle itself. 



220 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Cracks and soreness of the nipples are caused by 
the want of care, as a rule, in the washing of them. 
Women's nipples do not always project as do those of 
animals ; having been pressed down by stays, they will 
sometimes double or fold so as to include moisture, 
and perhaps even something else that is not quite 
clean. This is really the reason why nipples are ever 
sore or cracked, and the reason why abscesses occur 
in. the breast itself, particularly in the ordinary un- 
impaired state of the general health. Prevention is 
better than cure; but when soreness and cracks are 
actually present still greater care should be taken in 
the washing, and a little glycerine and tannin applied 
to help the craclcs to heal. The doctor may some- 
times find it necessary to apply stronger things, how- 
ever. If such affections as these cause too great pain 
on suckling, then, either the breast-glass should be 
used for a day or two, or the child should be fed arti- 
ficially until sufficient healing has taken place to allow 
it to resume. About the third day, in the case of a 
first confinement, and earlier in others, the breasts 
may become hard, lumpy, and painful. Suckling 
should relieve this, but if not, then hot fomentations 
should be applied between the sucklings. The patient 
may also be a little feverish at this time — the nurse 
referring to the condition as ''Milk Fever." This will 
soon pass off. Time should be allowed for the milk 
to show itself; it is useless, and may be harmful, to 
worry the nipple before. Painful breasts should never 
be rubbed. They should be carefully suspended in 
handkerchiefs. 

About nine months is the length of time a mother 
should feed her child on the breast, if everything 
should be satisfactory up to this period. She may 
wean it at any time before this if she feels certain that 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 221 

either she or the child is suffering, or when the doc- 
tor orders. There are so many differences in the con- 
stitution of both mothers and infants that hard and 
fast rules cannot be laid down for all. No two women 
are alike, and no two infants. Suckling after nine 
months may possibly weaken the mother and do the 
infant no good; although in many instances, I admit, 
it does not appear to do either any harm. 

A child should be weaned gradually, and if it should 
cause much trouble in longing for the breast when 
only being fed once a day, just before suckling is dis- 
continued altogether, then it would be better for the 
mother to actually terminate the feeding by leaving 
the child altogether for a day or two. Or she may 
apply something bitter to the nipples, such as aloes, 
so that the child will not be inclined to suckle. 

The mother should not allow the child to "take the 
breast" again after once completely giving it up. 
Though the breasts may appear full, they should be 
allowed to go down of themselves. Belladonna and 
glycerine may be painted on, preferably; but if plas- 
ters be bought, they should have the edges cut all 
round so that the breast may enlarge or diminish in 
size without being dragged upon by the plaster. One 
made of either soap or containing belladonna may be 
used, but the writer thinks that as much good is done 
by the support and rest which a plaster gives as by any 
particular compound the plaster is made of. 

Any rubbing of the breasts whatsoever, after wean- 
ing the child, is distinctly wrong, no matter what is 
used to rub them with. As near perfect rest as possi- 
ble is what should be secured. The mother should 
take slightly less to eat, if she have been previously 
hearty, and much less to drink; she should also see 
that her bowels are thoroughly active each day. 



222 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

The child should always be weaned if either preg- 
nancy take place again or if menstruation has com- 
menced — though suckling seems to delay the recur- 
rence of menstruation a good deal. Any conditions 
of definite ill-health should be put under the doctor's 
advice. So many ailments may possibly come upon 
a mother while she is nursing a baby, even ailments 
which anyone may suffer from, that advice regarding 
what she should do under all circumstances would be 
impossible to give in a book of this kind. 

Next to the mother's own milk, that of another 
woman is unquestionably the best for an infant to be 
fed on. Those who can aflford the expense of what is 
known as a ''wet-nurse'' — one who is willing to feed 
an infant not belonging to her on her own breast — 
had better employ one if they are not able to suckle 
their infants themselves. And, naturally, mothers 
would be anxious to know what woman, who hap- 
pened to be blessed with milk, would be suitable in 
every way for this purpose : I may mention, therefore, 
that a ''wet-nurse" should appear strong and well- 
developed all over, and have no sign of disease about 
her, and no indication that she has even once had any 
suspicious skin affections that might denote an un- 
healthy constitution. A woman twenty-five to thirty 
years of age, having well-developed breasts and nip- 
ples, and having a healthy baby of her own, which 
is itself about the age of the baby over which she is 
to act as "wet-nurse," is one to be recommended. If 
a woman apply for a position as wet-nurse whose 
own baby is dead, then the advice of a doctor had 
better be taken before she is engaged, for he will be 
able to judge whether the child has died on account 
of the mother's own ill-health or not. 

When the breasts begin to secrete milk in abund- 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 223 

ance they may often be felt again to have painful 
lumps here and there ; these are sometimes caused by 
the milk-ducts being obstructed; especially may such 
a condition be found among those who have given 
birth for the first time. The swellings may proceed 
to inflammation, but they will generally subside un- 
der rest. If decidedly painful, they should be sup- 
ported in the manner explained previously, and have 
warm fomentations applied — but again, no rough rub- 
bing. The lumps are not likely to develope into ab- 
scesses of themselves. But if the nipples are sore or 
cracked at the same time, abscesses are extremely 
likely to form, for discharge from an unhealthy nipple 
surface will be almost sure to find its way into the 
tender breast and set up mischief there. 

If an abscess is going to form in the breast great 
pain will be felt in one spot generally, and the pa- 
tient will complain of feeling ill. She will be dis- 
tinctly feverish, and shivering may be complained of 
later on when matter is beginning to form. These 
symptoms must not be mistaken for milk fever, which 
commonly occurs about the third to the sixth day, 
when there is a rush of milk, and gradually passes off. 
A reddened, hard swelling will be perceived in the 
breast if abscess is threatened. Occasionally such 
red, painful swellings will not develop sufficiently to 
form matter but will gradually go away again. If left 
to Nature, and an abscess really forms, it will prob- 
ably break of itself and discharge from a small open- 
ing, though it will very likely have destroyed a good 
deal of the breast tissue before doing so. Therefore 
the doctor will generally lance an abscess as soon as 
it appears ready, so that the breast may discharge 
freely and get well as soon as possible. 

In some cases of abscess of the breast the mother 



224 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

is not in a good state of general health, and she will 
require special medicinal treatment. An abscess may 
either form somewhat superficially, near the nipple, 
or within the breast tissue, or it may be under the 
breast. The last is the severest, and fortunately the 
rarest, of the three kinds. It causes very great pain 
and swelling, as a rule. 

If an abscess is only threatened, and there is simply 
pain and tenderness, then the child may be kept from 
the breast a day or two, so that perfect rest may be 
obtained for the affected part. A little milk may be 
suckled from the sound breast during this time. No 
poultices should be tried at this stage, for they will be 
more likely to bring on matter formation than to pre- 
vent it; only rest is necessary, the breast being slung 
and kept still in a comfortable handkerchief or by 
bandages, the arm on the affected side being kept 
quite still by being put in a sling. Should the inflam- 
mation seem only slight, the application of cold water 
or ice, put in a bag, will very often reduce it and pre- 
vent further mischief arising. 

But when it is certain that matter has begun to 
form, then poultices are the very best things to apply ; 
they relieve pain and tension and draw the matter 
nearer the surface. Sometimes they will succeed in 
making the abscess burst rapidly, and the doctor will 
not require to lance it. Discharge must not be al- 
lowed to remain long outside in the dressings, which 
should be changed four or five times a day, without 
moving the breast any more than can be helped. The 
abscess opening ought not be allowed to close too 
soon, as it might tend to do if not watched ; and the 
doctor sometimes finds it necessary to put in a drain- 
age tube to prevent this. The infant should never 



NATURAL FEEDING OF AN INFANT 225 

suckle a matter-discharging breast, even though the 
nipple might seem healthy. 

Before closing this chapter, think again of the argu- 
ment! To possess a baby of your own and not feed 
it as the Great Creator intended! To decide that 
anything is good enough for it — animal's milk is good 
enough, you say. Perhaps from tubercular cows ! 
Think again, you who have little regard for your off- 
spring, foolishly denying the innocent product of your 
own and your husband's self what is really best for it ! 

We have no room at present for a chapter on arti- 
ficial feeding, for the subject will require a book to 
itself. 

"Behold the child, by Nature's kindly law, 
Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw; 
Fed at his mother's breast — nor aught so good, 
Till tired he sleeps, and thrives — on best of food.'* 

—POPE. 



CHAPTER XXV 

SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS THAT MAY FOLLOW 
CHILDBIRTH 

Sometimes the appearance of blood in the dis- 
charge continues too long after a confinement ; such 
excess may be found in delicate and weakly mothers. 
If the nurse thinks that the flow is not as it should be, 
she should always mention the fact to the doctor, so 
that appropriate measures may be taken. It is no use 
going on hoping and thinking that everything will 
come right in the end, for such temporizing might lead 
to more serious symptoms showing themselves. 

The discharge after delivery consists almost entirely 
of pure blood for several hours after labor, and for 
three days a good deal of blood is passed, mixed with 
other fluids, and containing shreds of membrane and 
debris from the inside of the womb. The discharge 
may also contain blood clots; a certain number of 
these are sure to form if there is any quantity of blood 
passed. After the third day the proportion of blood 
begins to diminish considerably and clearer fluid takes 
its place. About the eighth day the discharge be- 
comes yellowish or greenish-yellow in color, and grad- 
ually from^ this time it clears up. 

There is naturally a slightly disagreeable smell from 
the normal discharge, and it is liable to decompose 
very soon. Therefore the frequen.t changing of well- 
aired diapers is necessary. The actual quantity of 
discharge varies, and will be greater if the mother 

226 



SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS 227 

does not feed her child on the breast, for suckling 
helps to contract and close the womb after labor, as 
before mentioned. If the smell is very offensive, the 
doctor must be told, if he has not found it out himself, 
because it will probably indicate that everything is 
not as it should be, and he will take special measures 
accordingly; perhaps a portion of the afterbirth or 
membranes has been retained within the womb and 
requires removing, for instance. 

Blood may make its appearance again, after the gen- 
eral discharge has cleared up, if the patient walk 
about too soon, or if she engage in work that requires 
much exertion. Anything causing a rush of blood 
to the womb will be likely to lead to this kind of after- 
haemorrhage, and even excitement has been known to 
bring it on. But if bleeding occur repeatedly during 
the few weeks following delivery, then it is almost 
certain that there is something in the womb which 
causes irritation and local inflammation. The doctor 
must be sent for in such a case. 

Puerperal fever is an important and serious com- 
plication that may possibly arise after confinement. 
"Child-bed fever" it has sometimes been named. It 
depends upon some blood-poisoning matter finding its 
way in or near the womb. Dirty hands may com- 
municate it from one woman to another, and mid- 
wives or nurses who are not careful will run the risk 
of giving the fever to their patients. Carelessness is 
usually the cause. Bad drainage is also said to be a 
cause, while at other times the affection seems to be 
dependent upon some poison already circulating with- 
in the system. It is an extremely contagious disease, 
and has to be reported. Lying-in hospitals had for- 
merly to be closed on account of outbreaks occurring 
within them, though nowadays a well-ordered hos- 



228 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

pital is the least likely place for the disease to occur 
in, for more perfect methods of avoiding any unclean- 
liness or poisoning influence whatsoever are now prac- 
tised. If a midwife has been attending a case which 
developed the disease, she must abstain from practise 
for some time, and have herself and everything be- 
longing to her person, as well as all appliances she 
uses, thoroughly antisepticized or disinfected, or else 
she will give the same disease to every woman she 
attends. 

Those who suffer from this complication will notice 
headache and shivering about the third day, or per- 
haps later, and they will feel sufficiently ill to remark 
about it. Loss of appetite and furred tongue may be 
observed, while tenderness or pain about the lower 
abdomen will very likely be complained of at the same 
time. The poisonous matter, which comes from micro- 
organisms, may enter the system either through the 
open internal surface of the womb itself or through 
some tear or bruising of the perineum, vagina, or out- 
side private parts. Those who have given birth to 
a child for the first tim-e are more liable to this kind 
of fever, because they are more often torn or injured 
in some way than others. 

There is a less serious form of fever to be men- 
tioned — which can scarcely be called real puerperal 
fever — caused by exposure to cold. The patient will 
feel hot and feverish, and pain will also be perceived 
about the womb indicating inflammation there. Rest 
and the application of mustard and linseed poultices 
over the painful part is generally all that is necessary 
to restore such cases to a proper condition again. 
These mild inflammations, however, may lead to the 
more serious ones ; therefore they should never be 
neglected or thought too little of. 



SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS 229 

Scarlatina and erysipelas are extremely likely to 
be contracted by a woman after childbirth, should 
either of the diseases occur in anyone living in the 
same house, or near, though, fortunately, they are 
not so likely to attack a woman during the months 
of pregnancy. These diseases are likely to prove seri- 
ous after confinement, not only because the patient 
is already debilitated, but also because of a greater 
likelihood of puerperal fever itself or blood-poisoning 
taking place as well. The more complications occur- 
ring in a lying-in patien.t the more risks will she run 
of still further complications, because each one re- 
duces the system to greater susceptibility to others; 
while any unskilled interference with the parts, on ac- 
count of soreness or discharges, also movements of the 
bowels, will give more frequent opportunities for some 
poisonous material to find its way to inviting places. 
Therefore, wherever there are complications, there 
must also be adopted still more strict precautions, in 
the way of scrupulous cleanliness and purification of 
everything concerned or used. 

The temperature may rise in puerperal fever to any 
height up to 104, or even 105, and it will go up rather 
suddenly at first, as a rule, even as high as 102 or 103 
while the early shivering is taking place. When the 
fever is due to the decomposition of a piece of after- 
birth which has been left behind, the temperature 
goes up more gradually. The pulse will also increase 
its beats considerably. The tongue becomes coated. 
Even decided delirium may be observed in severe 
cases. Very often the discharge from the womb di- 
minishes or ceases altogether, while the supply of 
milk IS always afifected more or less, being sometimes 
stopped altogether. Further signs and symptoms of 
this dreadful disease need not be given. The doctor 



230 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

will have been called in at an early stage if the friends 
of a patient have been wise, and everything must then 
be left to him. Only sufficient information is given 
concerning serious complaints, in this work, as will 
give a mother a simple understanding about the dis- 
eases and complications she may at any time hear 
about, or even be unfortunate enough to suffer from 
herself, so that she shall better appreciate those in- 
structions laid down in former chapters regarding 
cleanliness and disinfection, and see that her nurse 
does her duties rightly. 

What is commonly called milk-leg is a very painful 
and troublesome condition that may affect one or both 
legs after confinement. It is caused by some inter- 
ference with the proper circulation of the blood and 
lymph through the part affected, either of the nature 
of a clot or produced by an affection of the vessels 
themselves. The limb swells and feels tight and 
brawny, while the surface of it turns white and shiny. 
It was formerly thought that the milk ran down to 
the limb to cause this condition. Those women who 
suffer from undue haemorrhage are almost sure to pass 
a good many blood clots, and it has been observed 
that such women are also more liable to suffer from 
this affliction. 

The condition generally comes on in the second or 
third week after delivery. Pain is felt in the thigh, ' 
which soon spreads downwards, or it may be felt in j 
the calf first, the spreading taking place in an upward ; 
direction. The left leg is more commonly attacked ^ 
than the right. The temperature usually rises slight- 
ly, while the patient will probably feel ill at the same j 
time. The blood-vessels will be observed to be in- I 
flamed, and they will prove tender to the touch. The 
symptoms usually last from five to ten days and then 



SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS 231 

begin to lessen, the swelling growing less and less, 
while the pain and temperature also commence to de- 
cline. There may be relapses, however. The leg 
does not get entirely well for several weeks, the cir- 
culation gradually assuming its normal state as time 
goes on. Rarely does the affection, prove fatal, 
though a portion of clot has been known to become 
detached, and getting into the general circulation it 
has caused an obstruction in an important artery of 
the brain, which has resulted in sudden death. 

Absolute rest is necessary in the treatment. Not 
only should the patient remain still in bed, but the 
parts must on no account be rubbed, for this would 
not only increase the inflammation that is there, but 
it might also detach a portion, of clot. The leg should 
be raised a little and have a cradle put over it to keep 
the bedclothes from irritating or pressing upon it. 
The doctor will give every instruction in a serious 
condition of this kind, and the patient is recommended 
not to trust to the advice of friends or to use her own 
discretion, but to send for him if she is not satisfied 
about her symptoms. 

The mind may become peculiarly affected at vari- 
ous periods between parturition and the time a child 
should be weaned, by what is commonly called puer- 
peral mania. Forms of insanity may even make their 
appearance w^hile a woman is pregnant, having origi- 
nated to some extent on account of former inherited 
nervous tendencies. Her mind may even show signs 
of derangement during labor. 

The period when the mind is most likely to be in- 
fluenced in this way, however, is that between deliv- 
ery and eight weeks after, while the largest number 
of cases have been observed to occur within the first 
two weeks. There are all degrees of severity, some 



232 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

so mild as hardly to require special advice, while 
others may defy all treatment and ultimately end in 
death. In most cases a history of either insanity in 
the family, or of nervous affections, can be made out, 
showing that child-bearing is not of itself a cause of 
any kind of insanity, but that it leads to this state 
sometimes in those having unfavorable family ten- 
dencies. But there is one satisfactory point about in- 
sanity occurring in a woman in connection with child- 
birth, and that is, the chances of recovery are usually 
very favorable. Under proper treatment, when the 
effects of the confinement wear off, the mind will 
usually become clear again. Loss of blood, exhaus- 
tion, and general debility will all tend to upset the 
mind in women having a nervous history. 

The symptoms of puerperal mania need hardly be 
given fully, for the reader could very well be spared 
too deep studying. However, many might be inter- 
ested to know that sleeplessness is commonly com- 
plained of, while the patient may develop a great dis- 
like to her nurse and her husband, without any spe- 
cial reason. She may also have delusions, and show 
a good deal of violence. Sometimes she will take a 
dislike to her child even, refusing to have anything to 
do with it ; while cases have been known in which the 
child has been actually killed. The attack lasts gen- 
erally from three to six months, after which, under 
treatment, complete cure will usually take place. 

Excessive suckling sometimes appears to be a cause 
of puerperal insanity. This cause and its result are 
naturally more frequently found among the poorer 
classes. Mothers who have had many children, and 
who have suckled each of them a long time, will be 
likely to suffer more than others. In a few instances 
symptoms of insanity appear immediately after wean- 



SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS 233 

ing. However, it is satisfactory to know that the 
large majority of such cases completely recover when 
the general health is again fully restored. 

Full instructions as to what should be done in these 
cases could not possibly be given in this book. Each 
must be treated according to the particular symptoms 
displayed, and according to the local and general con- 
ditions of the patient. Of course a doctor would be 
consulted, and it is advisable that he be sought out 
early enough, before any real harm is done. 

These peculiar and very unfortunate forms of in- 
sanity would not have been referred to at all, but for 
the fact that all women should know just a little of 
whatever complications and troubles they are liable 
to suffer from as a result of child-bearing, not that 
they may be in the least afraid, for, after all, the large 
majority of women get over the event without any- 
thing happening whatever worth speaking of — only 
one woman in about six or seven thousand ever shows 
any signs of mind derangement, for instance. But to 
be foreinformed is to be forearmed in all matters re- 
lating to child-bearing. Women have most of them 
thinking powers of their own ; and there are so many 
opportunities of gaining incorrect and dangerous in- 
formation, when a large amount of mischievous gos- 
siping goes on regarding every subject connected with 
maternity, that definite and reliable information re- 
specting various conditions and contingencies ought 
to be within the reach of all wives and mothers. Not 
that they can do everything by themselves, but that 
they may know how much they can do and when to 
do it; and also that they may realize what others can 
do to help them. 

Another possible contingency following childbirth 
is some displacement of the womb, especially a de- 



234 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

gree of prolapse or falling-down of the womb. This 
may occur as a result of either a general physical 
weakness or of a tear of the perineum. The latter 
cause is the commoner, and gives by far the more pro- 
nounced disarrangement. If a perineum have been 
torn when the child came into the world it should 
have been carefuly stitched up by the doctor. But if 
a midwife have attended, and a tear has taken place, 
no doctor having been sent for, then the tear may 
remain, rendering the vulval opening much larger 
than it should be, while the perineum is weakened and 
will afford little support. Consequently, under such 
conditions, the womb will tend to come down too far, 
not being held up by the firmness and entirety of the 
pelvic floor. 

In the case of merely physical weakness, generally, 
a womb may prolapse to some extent, even though the 
perineum have not been injured. 

Whatever may have been the cause of a falling of 
the womb — a condition that the patient may recognize 
herself, from distressful pain across the lower part of 
the back, and perhaps too frequent passing of water 
— the treatment will be one of several according to 
degree and severity. The general health must be im- 
proved by every means suitable to the indications of 
impairment, while the doctor will give support to the 
womb by inserting some comfortable kind of pessary 
within the vagina, until such time as the parts are 
capable of sustaining themselves again. Pessaries are 
made of either india rubber, vulcanite, or metal, and 
are of very many shapes and sizes to agree with vary- 
ing conditions and different anatomical dispositions. 

If a tear had not been sewn up at the time of recov- 
ering from parturition, it will be necessary to have an 
operation performed, to restore the damaged per- 



SOME IMPORTANT CONDITIONS 235 

inetim. Thus the place of the tear must be made en- 
tire again, under chloroform, and much more will re- 
quire to be done than if restoration had been effected 
immediately the tear had occurred. 

Inflammation in or around the womb may follow a 
tear of the perineum, if the latter be not attended to. 
Yet, again, a tear may take place at the neck of the 
womb during the passage of the child into the world. 
This will also be likely to give chronic distress about 
the womb and its appendages, unless the tear be rec- 
tified. Cases are not uncommonly seen of women suf- 
fering pain and general ill-health for years after child- 
birth, until an examination has revealed a damaged 
neck of the womb. When this is operated on all goes 
well again. 

The more extensive damage to parts need not be 
referred to, nor is it necessary to mention many other 
less important ailments and disorders following child- 
birth in a work that must necessarily deal shortly with 
all subjects. 

"Of magic potent over sun and star. 
Is love, though, oft to agony distrest, 
And though his favorite seat be delicate woman's 
breast." 

—WORDSWORTH. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

ON DOUCHING OR SYRINGING 

At almost any time of her life a woman may require 
what is known as vaginal douching or syringing. Girls 
of any age may sometimes suffer from a discharge 
from the vagina which necessitates syringing; but 
later on in life, when a woman is married — and some- 
times before she is married — she will very likely suf- 
fer from some vaginal discharge which will require 
attention. ''Whites/' or leucorrhoea are fairly well- 
known conditions among women, and when profuse, 
they cause a good deal of irritation and discomfort. 

Sometimes discharges have a distinct association 
with internal disease or tumor growth, and will neces- 
sitate the intervention of the doctor on this account; 
but oftener they arise simply through defective gen- 
eral health. It should be remembered that if they are 
particularly offensive they point to disease as the cause 
of them. Nothing will indicate the state of the gen- 
eral health in women more clearly than vaginal dis- 
charges, especially when a woman has several times, 
or for some years, suffered from them ; whenever they 
are more profuse the general health is sure to be lower 
in tone. Women will often observe this for them- 
selves, and, acting according as the indication sug- 
gests, they will take tonics, and more fresh air and 
exercise, etc. 

Excessive itching of the passage and outside parts 

236 



ON DOUCHING OR SYRINGING 237 

results from vaginal discharge in some cases, though 
the same symptom may also be found in women suf- 
fering from diabetes, and should not, therefore, of it- 
self, be taken by a doctor or midwife as proof that a 
profuse discharge necessarily exists. The lead solu- 
tion- referred to in a former chapter will be found in- 
valuable as a simple remedy for the itching produced 
by such discharges, and nothing is better as a solution 
for simple vaginal douching than boric acid. 

Frequently during married life, more especially af- 
ter a miscarriage or confinement, douching or syring- 
ing will be ordered by the doctor. The passage may 
require cleansing for several reasons. In the first 
place, common hygienic sense will demand it, should 
there exist any unpleasant discharge; secondly, the 
actual profuseness of a discharge may be such as to 
require diminishing, simply because of the discomfort 
and inconvenience of it; thirdly, the irritation arising 
may be so great as to necessitate such treatment ; 
fourthly, discharges often tend to get worse, and had 
therefore better be kept under some control, to say 
the least. Sometimes husbands will complain, not of 
local trouble, but of their health being injured through 
a discharge occurring from their wife. They imagine 
— and it is only imagination — that they suffer in gen- 
eral health. They should know^ however, that they 
cannot be affected in general health unless they have 
been locally influenced first. Ill-feeling between hus- 
band and wife has sometimes arisen through this mis- 
apprehension, the husband conceiving the idea that 
he is a martyr, having to suffer on account of a condi- 
tion of his wife. 

Every married woman should possess a douche or 
syringe for her own use. Indeed, every household 
should have an ordinary enema syringe ; for the same 



238 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

instrument, with different tubes, will serve for two 
different purposes, either for the vagina or the rectum 
in case of emergency. The tube for the vagina is four 
or five inches long, usually with holes for the solution 
to pass through ; while thai for the rectum is one and 
a half or two inches long, and is generally made of 
white bone having one hole at the end. 

Most women are familiar with the appearance of 
the red flexible vaginal tube, for a long time past com- 
monly used with syringes ; but a very considerable 
improvement has been made on this, in one shaped 
with a bulbous end. This tube enables either the 
medical man, nurse, or patient herself to syringe the 
vagina with great ease and safety, while the results 
are much more perfect and satisfactory. There is 
only a single slot through which the fluid passes, in- 
stead of several holes — which get blocked and dirty. 
The old red tube is really of very little use, being of 
wrong shape and can never be kept properly clean. 
Either a glass one, bulbous-ended, or a vulcanite one, 
with slot to facilitate cleaning, should be selected, as 
being more scientific and far and away the best. You 
merely pass a piece of linen or paper through the slot 
to clear and cleanse it. The bulb enables the deeper 
vagina to be douched without any possibility of dam- 
age being done. 

The douche-bag, a vessel made for hanging up, to- 
gether with a sufficiently long piece of india rubber 
tubing, may be used instead of a syringe, if a con- 
venient apparatus is required for the vagina alone. 
Some find it easier to use than the syringe. Certain 
poisonous solutions might be mentioned as being most 
valuable for vaginal syringing or douching, but it 
would not be safe to recommend them in such a book 
as this. Some women might use them with care and 



ON DOUCHING OR SYRINGING 239 

intelligence, and others not. There are solutions, 
however, not so poisonous, which may be mentioned 
in addition to the lead one previously described as 
useful for simple itching and soreness. A teaspoon- 
ful of alum to a pint of water makes a good solution. 
The same strength of borax or boracic acid and water 
may also be used to advantage. Permanganate of 
potash and water, mixed of such strength as will give 
the appearance of watered claret, so that objects may 
be well seen through it, is also valuable as a douching 
solution. 

"Most thoughtful men 
Are cradled into poetry by wrong; 
They learn from suffering what they teach in song." 

—SHELLY. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

HOW AN INFANT SHOULD BE TREATED 

And now let us turn our attention to the object of 
all these joys, triumphs, aspirations, and thanksgiv- 
ings — as well as even troubles and trials — the new- 
born babe. Yes; it is worth it! It is worth all the 
risks of the most pessimistic reasoner, all the pangs 
of "a cruel ordeal" ; many mothers have told me so — 
almost all ! 

Soon the pain is over, and the reward lies snugly 
by its mother's side, innocent and sleepy, its little 
fingers as pink and beautiful as a bit of living and 
priceless coral. It is heavenly! And how its mother 
kisses it and warms it as the dearest portion of her- 
self ! Now all her instinctive aflfection and motherly 
regard comes out, and she cannot help loving it; she 
is quite beside herself with her new possession. And 
father likes it too ; he once thought he would never 
nurse a baby as long as he lived ; but now he does, ac- 
tually! Something tells him that it is after his own 
image and likeness ; it is a portion of himself. Yes ; 
he even kisses it warmly, and no one else is in the 
room but his wife just now. It is their own precious 
production, and they are proud of it. 

Ah! There is the strongest human bond of all in 
that child ; no link or power on earth but one like 
that could bring so much love to the domestic hearth, 
healing and quickly curing past diflferences. A child 
will bring a kiss of reparation and reconciliation when 

240 



HOW TO TREAT AN INFANT 241 

nothing else would; it has many a time and oft re- 
stored harmony after months of bitter discord. It is 
a portion of both, and it exists as though it should 
say: "Do not quarrel, I am a serious matter between 
you. Think now of yourselves and of me. Remem- 
ber, Vhom God hath joined let no man put asunder.' " 
And even suppose harmony to have always been there 
before, still this portion of both united, fashioned so 
marvellously and perfected as nothing else on earth 
could be, knits hearts firmer than ever; this meaning 
in marriage reveals itself clearer still as a heaven-sent 
blessing which it is the great privilege of man and 
woman to enjoy. The parents feel new sensations ; a 
new life is theirs when a child is born ! 

Go and look at it again, you who have brought 
comfort and congratulations — the beautiful little 
creature ! — and think how glad a mother should be 
to give forth such a living masterpiece, and how proud 
a father that he has produced life that will grow forth 
slowly into strong and able succession. How envious 
the barren are bound to be ! Take it in your arms, 
you who have only called as a friend; it is lovely to 
hold such a dear little thing ; look at its pretty shaped 
face, its nose, its sleepy and closed eyelids; it seems 
in the world but not quite yet of it. No cares, no 
worries, no anxieties. What a life is this ! And what 
life is in store for it? 

We must learn what is now to be done to this pre- 
cious morsel. It was born and put aside for a while, 
warmly wrapped up in a flannel. It cried a little, but 
soon settled down to good, hard, business-like breath- 
ing, just as though it had suddenly found out how to 
do it, and was making haste for fear it should not be 
striving fast enough. It will not smother; oh, no! 
You need not have its head uncovered at first ; swathe 



242 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

it up and keep the cold air from it until nurse is quite 
ready to wash it, for the air is chilly compared with 
the warmth of its situation but a few minutes ago. 

When all the bustle and stir of the infant's advent 
has given way to comparative calm ; when the after- 
birth has come away and the nurse is no longer re- 
quired for anything else, she goes to the mother's bed 
and brings out the baby, finding it in flannel under the 
clothes where it had been placed out of danger. It 
must now be washed and dressed. When first born 
it is all wet with the maternal moisture, and there 
is also a whitish greasy material about it which must 
all be cleansed out of the way. The nurse should 
have everything ready, the water being at a right tem- 
perature. Not very much soap is required, and it 
should be of an unirritating kind, for the baby's skin 
is extremely tender. (The writer has seen nearly all 
the skin taken off a new-born babe through the ignor- 
ance or wickedness of a nurse.) 

Baby should be dipped right into the bath, and the 
washing had better begin at the head first, for this 
is the most important part. A clean, soft piece of flan- 
nel should be used, not a sponge or piece of flannel 
that has been previously used by other people. A 
good-sized bit of lint is the best of all to use, if it 
happen to be in the house. Let the little head be 
carefully washed first, it will bear the soap well and 
will require it if there is much hair. Then, after al- 
lowing water to stream over it, the eyes should be at- 
tended to next. These are by far the most import- 
ant parts of the baby to attend to. The lids should 
be carefully cleansed, each in turn, not roughly, but 
slowly and gently. A troublesome inflammation may 
attack the eyes if they are neglected and carelessly 
washed. If the baby is held in the lap close by the 



HOW TO TREAT AN INFANT 243 

fire all this time it will keep warm enough until the 
drying gives it a glow. 

When properly washed all over, the cut cord must 
be attended to. You will remember that it had been 
tied and cut free from its attachment to the after- 
birth after the child had come into the world. Now 
it must be carefully wrapped in something quite clean, 
and left to shrink away. In a few days it will turn 
dark and dry, and will separate from the body of the 
child. It must be kept clean and wrapped up lest 
anything should touch it which might cause blood- 
poisoning or gatherings. A very common way of pro- 
tecting it is to scorch a piece of clean linen ; then hav- 
ing cut a hole in the centre of it, by folding it and cut- 
ting off the point of the angle thus formed, let the end 
of the- cut cord be passed through this hole and the 
sides of the piece of linen folded over it, while it is 
directed upwards on the body; then let all be kept in 
position by a binder. 

The scorching is done according to a very old cus- 
tom, doubtless in order to purify the piece of linen, 
though very few nurses or midwives could ever tell 
you why they do it ; they only know it is the custom. 
Anything soft and quite clean will do just as well, 
however. The navel ought to look quite healthy 
when the portion of cord drops off; if there should 
happen to be any discharge, it should be carefully 
washed away each day, and a piece of lint with 
boracic ointment placed over it. Gatherings have 
been known to form, in rare instances, when the cord 
has been treated carelessly; such will require a lin- 
seed poultice, while ordinary antiseptic after-care 
must be bestowed until they are healed. 

Wet clothing had better be changed pretty frequen- 



244 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ly if the mother wish to avoid soreness about the 
baby's thighs and buttocks. The best and simplest 
way to keep the skin pure, healthy, and strong is to 
keep it dry; this should never be forgotten. Mothers 
sometimes show their infant to a doctor and wonder 
whether the poor thing could have any disease about 
it, for its skin is angry-looking and extremely sore, 
causing it to scream when washed. Ill-health itself 
certainly very often causes an unusually sensitive 
skin, but keeping the parts as dry as possible, fre- 
quently changing the napkins, will prevent soreness 
to a very great extent in all instances. Careful wash- 
ing each day is very necessary, if only to keep the skin 
healthy. Sometimes mothers or nurses neglect to 
wash certain parts of the infant thoroughly because 
of soreness, but nothing will conduce so much to sore- 
ness as carelessly incomplete or neglected washing. 
A sore part of the body, if unwashed, will get sorer 
still ; therefore, if a skin show itself unduly sensitive, 
and if it look like becoming angry and sore, first see 
that the parts are gently but completely and thor- 
oughly washed — no irritating soap being used, but 
oatmeal-water over the sore parts ; then be careful 
they are perfectly dried, and now put on a little pow- 
der. A valuable powder to be used when any sore- 
ness or threatening redness appears may be made by 
mixing well one part of powdered oxide of zinc with 
about three parts of powdered starch or boracic acid. 
This may be applied twice or even three times a day. 
But it had better not be used for all occasions, how- 
ever, when the skin is healthy, for it is too drying 
for healthy skin; any ordinary and reliable infants' 
powder will do then. 

If the child is not to be fed on the breast for some 



HOW TO TREAT AN INFANT 245 

reason or other, it must now be a most important ques- 
tion what else it should be fed on. As a rule, this is 
a subject far too lightly thought over by mothers and 
nurses; almost anything would seem good enough in 
the estimation of some, and prepared anyhow. If 
mothers only realized the truth of the statement made 
in an earlier chapter, that breast-fed children, as a 
rule, are healthy and cause very little trouble, while 
artificially-fed infants are almost invariably the oppo- 
site, being more often, than not distinctly ailing and 
most irritable little puny things, they would feed the 
children '*on the breast" oftener than they do. A 
breast-fed infant can be distinguished at once by its 
fullness and firmness, by its smiles and good nature 
causing little trouble. The fact unpleasantly faces us 
that very few infants are anything like properly fed 
when the mother cannot for some reason or other pro- 
vide natural food. 

The subject of artificial feeding cannot be dealt with 
in these pages because it is a very large one — large 
enough to require a book itself. The prime object of 
the writer on this occasion is to impress upon mothers 
the necessity for, and the value of, natural feeding. 
There is nothing like the mother's milk. It is true 
that a very large number of prepared foods for infants 
exist, but doctors judge from the babies themselves, 
that the best of these foods are worth little in com- 
parison with natural food. By very careful attention, 
and wise or fortunate choice, a mother may rear her 
child fairly well; but it will hardly ever look so 
healthy or seem so lusty and satisfied as does a breast- 
fed one. 

"On nurses knees, a naked new-bom child 
Weeping it lay, while all around it smiled." 

—FROM THE PERSIAN. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

CERTAIN CONDITIONS OF THE INFANT THAT MAY 
CAUSE ANXIETY 

Sometimes when a baby is born it will not cry as it 
ought to do, and if further closely observed it may not 
even be breathing. In such event it should be slapped 
sharply, with something soft but appreciable — a wet 
corner of a towel being very good. The sudden slap 
will generally have the effect of starting the breathing 
which will probably now continue. 

In such cases as the above, mothers with already 
large families have been known to beg the doctor not 
to interfere with the child if it is not breathing, hoping 
that the poor little thing may not live. But the doctor 
must commit no criminal offense either by omission 
or commission ; it is his duty to see that the child shall 
live, and to do everything he can to make it live. 
Therefore mothers must not express a desire to their 
doctors, however large their families may be, and how- 
ever they may wish to have no more children. Even 
monsters must not — by the law of the land — be per- 
mitted to die, if a doctor can save them. I once had 
a case in which the child was deformed, and was not 
breathing when born. "Please do not do anything to 
make it live, doctor," said the mother. Perhaps if the 
mother had not spoken I might have allozved it to die. As 
it was, I felt obliged to do what I could to cause it to 
live. I could not allow her to even remark to her 

246 



CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE ANXIETY 247 

friends that I had neglected to do what others might 
think was my duty. Different people have different 
opinions, and I know women who would rather be the 
mother of a slightly deformed child than none at all. 
An operation might make matters better later on. 

Should the child not breathe after being slapped in 
the manner described, cold water may be sprinkled in 
its face if a doctor does not happen to be present. If it 
''struggle with its breath," or take only slight inspira- 
tion, a bit of smoldering cloth may be held over its 
nose to stimulate the action of the lungs. It ought, 
properly, to breathe before the navel string is cut, 
unless the circulation communicating with the mother 
be stopped. The doctor should always be sent for if 
he is not there already, for one of the special methods 
for inducing respiration should be employed at once, if 
the above simple plans are not sufficient — and only 
a doctor can exercise these properly. 

A mother will always be very grieved to hear of 
some deformity about her child, as soon as it is born. 
Among a good many different kinds that may occur, 
the commonest are hare-lip, club-foot, cleft-palate, and 
perhaps dislocation of joints. But all these can be 
very successfully operated upon, and there may be 
comparatively little evidence left afterwards that they 
ever existed. 

Deformities of the generative organs or anus are 
likewise liable to occur. A baby boy having a long 
prepuce— a piece of loose skin projecting from the 
very end of his private organ — should be operated on 
some time within the first twelve months of his life, 
for at this age the operation is simple, and the wound 
will heal quite readily, as a rule, without dangerous 
complications arising, while later on in life the per- 



248 THE WIFE : HER BOOK 

formance would be of a more elaborate nature, and 
would necessitate the administration of an anaesthetic. 
An infant will perceive a considerable amount of pain 
while the operation is going on, though it may be 
quickly and skillfully done, but it will know nothing 
of it a little time afterwards. If left there, this piece 
of loose skin will sometimes prevent the water from 
passing freely, and it may necessitate much straining 
in any case, leading to other misfortunes — rupture for 
instance. When a boy reaches a later age with such 
an affliction, he will be likely to be nervous and wet 
the bed; and occasionally quite serious bladder symp- 
toms will result ; so that mothers had better bear the 
condition in mind, and have their children operated 
on when quite young if they require it. When the 
operation is performed later than infancy, the dressing 
afterwards being often distressing to both mother and 
child, it is sometimes advisable for the little patient 
to be sent to a hospital for a week. 

Occasionally a child may be born with some kind 
of tumor growth. A red naevus condition will con- 
siderably disfigure the face in certain instances. Such 
can all be operated upon very successfully, except 
when they cover a large area in the form of what is 
known as "port-wine stain," then operation would be 
recommended with much reservation. 

Hare-lip, if not operated upon early, will remain a 
most unsightly deformity for life, rendering the suf- 
ferer almost repulsive to look upon. The speech will 
be altered by it, especially if it be the double form 
having a cleft on both sides of the upper lip. The 
operation had better be done between the third and 
fifth month of infancy, for it causes a good deal of 
haemorrhage which younger infants cannot bear very 



CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE ANXIETY 249 

well; it must also be done before the teeth begin to 
appear. It is associated with cleft-palate. 

The feet of baby may be ''clubbed'' in various 
directions. This sometimes results from the foetus in 
the womb being placed in a wrong position, while 
occasionally it occurs on account of the contraction of 
certain muscles. Good surgeons are able to make quite 
nice looking feet out of most of these deformities. 

One of the most trifling deformities, and perhaps the 
commonest of all, is what is generally termed by 
nurses and others ''tongue-tie." Nurses seem to like 
to point out these things to the doctor, and some of 
them will show him every baby they attend to, so that 
he shall see if they have the condition, fussily imagin- 
ing that it exists because of the child's squealing, per- 
haps, or on account of some peculiarity of sucking they 
think they discern. If the baby really have "tongue- 
tie," the tongue will be prevented from moving prop- 
erly, on account of a string-like piece passing down 
to the floor of the mouth from the tip, which may be 
seen quite easily when the tongue is raised. Most 
people have the same condition, to some very slight 
extent, quite naturally. But if it come too far forward, 
and is too strongly developed, it will interfere with 
suckling, and later on in life even with proper speech. 
The doctor will cut this string in such cases. This 
very simple and harmless procedure need not worry 
the mother in the least; it can be done in a moment. 

Convulsions are a comparatively common aflfection, 
liable to occur during infancy, for at this time of life 
the nervous system is of such a delicate nature, and 
may get out of order on the slightest provocation. 

The fits are very easy to recognize, as a rule ; most 
mothers have seen or heard of instances among either 



250 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

their own children or those of their friends. They are 
not altogether unlike the epileptic fits. They generally 
commence by a turning of the head to one side or 
other, backwards, while the eyes are also themselves 
fixed to one side ; at the same time the arms and legs 
are stretched out and stiff. The face is pale at first, 
but grows livid very soon. The first stage occupies a 
few moments, being followed by twitchings and vio- 
lent convulsive movements throughout the body. The 
whole fit lasts a few moments, and then the infant will 
gradually recover. Other seizures may follow after 
short intervals, during which complete coma or un- 
consciousness may be present, which would appear not 
unlike a natural sleep but for the fact that little 
twitchings may be observed now and then. 

Mothers should always view unusual twitchings 
about the arms and legs with concern, from the first, 
and consult their doctor, for the actual convulsions 
may frequently be warded off ; infants likely to suffer 
from fits will nearly always manifest some amount of 
jerking or sudden contraction of the limbs for some 
time before the first one occurs. Very often the fingers 
and thumbs of each hand will be observed to turn into 
the palms, and the wrists may also be bent inwards 
some time before a real fit occurs. If such symptoms 
can be seen in time, appropriate remedies may pre- 
vent further developments. 

Convulsions may either be very mild in character or 
so severe as to end fatally. There are all degrees of 
of severity. Sometimes only a turning of the eyes 
and a rigidity of the limbs may be noticed, and no 
more. Real fits themselves are generally quite easy to 
distinguish, but the cause of them is not always very 
clear to the mother ; and, after all, it is the cause that 



CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE ANXIETY 251 

ought to be discovered if future prevention is desired 
as well as temporary cure. 

Among the causes of convulsions in children may be 
mentioned acute illness, such as measles, scarlet fever, 
and pneumonia, but these w^ill be more likely to act 
as causes a little later on. A more likely cause in the 
very young infant is more the subject of our atten- 
tion in this book, will be exhaustion following diar- 
rhoea and vomiting; while the most likely of all is some 
error in diet. Indigestion will cause convulsions ; and 
when an infant has been improperly tended over a 
long period there may be several causes acting to- 
gether to upset the nervous system. Convulsions are 
very commonly associated with the condition known 
as rickets, described in a former chapter, a disease 
entirely due, in the majority of cases, to improper 
feeding. 

Worms in the intestines will sometimes cause con- 
vulsions, but these also will be more likely to make 
their appearance later on in childhood; again, pin- 
pricking had better be borne in mind by mothers, as 
a cause; therefore great care should always be taken 
that only safety-pins are employed by nursemaids or 
anyone handling an infant. Cutting the teeth between 
the sixth and twelfth month may be mentioned also 
as a cause. 

Whenever a mother sees her infant twitching in 
the face or limbs, or moving its eyes in a strange 
manner, let her remember the possibility of convul- 
sions following, especially if the fingers and thumbs 
are stiff in the manner above referred to, and turn to 
household remedies on sending for the doctor. While 
hastily puzzling out the probable cause, not forgetting 
pins, a little mustard from the tin may be mixed with 



252 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

hot water ; put this between very thin muslin, making 
a pure mustard poultice — about the size of the baby's 
hand. This little poultice should be laid on the back 
of the infant's neck, and held there a few minutes, or 
it may be kept in position by a soft handkerchief, while 
some more mustard is stirred up in a basin of warm 
water — into this the infant's feet should be dipped. 

These two measures are the best to adopt first of all, 
whether an actual fit has occurred, and is then going 
on, or whether merely the preliminary twitching has 
been observed. By such means convulsions may very 
often by altogether prevented. Warm baths are very 
commonly resorted to, being strongly advocated by 
some doctors; but while recognizing and admittting 
their advantages, the present writer has greater faith 
in mustard being applied to the neck and feet in the 
manner above referred to. Local counter-irritation is 
produced, by such means, at points diametrically 
opposite to the brain, while baths create such a gen- 
eral rearrangement of blood supply as may act in the 
very opposite way to the one desired. 

If convulsions occur, and the bowels have not been 
properly opened, a suitable powder should be ad- 
ministered, as soon as relaxation of the muscles will 
allow it to be put on the tongue, a grain of gray 
powder being one of the best and easiest procured. 
Then, as soon as the infant can swallow, it should 
have some bromide of potassium, given dissolved in 
water, three or four grains in a dose; this should be 
repeated in an hour, and then in two hours again. 
Before another fit occurs, the doctor had better be sent 
for. He will give directions as to immediate treat- 
ment, according as he divines the cause and gauges 
the general condition of the infant ; and as regards the 



CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE ANXIETY 253 

future, he will give indications respecting feeding and 
other matters. He will be almost certain to agree with 
this advice also: that a baby's enema may be ad- 
ministered, if constipation exist. 

If a mother be at all anxious about the general 
condition of her infant at any time, and if the latter 
should manifest such signs as suggest the advisability 
of administering some kind of medicine, the very 
greatest caution and care should be taken concerning 
what is chosen or recommended ; while the very last 
guidance a mother should take is that printed on the 
advertisement pages of so many newspapers and 
journals. Advertised medicines, as well as foods, can- 
not always be relied upon, for they are proclaimed as 
being suitable for so many different conditions; they 
cannot exactly suit all. 

No two people are alike, and no two babies, and 
the reader will readily understand that both mother 
and child will run some risk if she should purchase 
any advertised nostrum for her infant that happened 
to catch the eye — not that such remedies may do harm 
of themselves, but rather that they may prevent other 
more effectual and perfect remedies being adopted. 
Valuable time and opportunity may thus be wasted. 
Fortunately, cordials and soothing syrups do not seem 
to be quite so much resorted to nowadays as they 
were formerly. They have been the ruin of many a 
constitution. 

Mothers should endeavor to obtain reliable advice, 
either from their best and truest friends, or from their 
doctor — who may be both friend and scientific adviser 
— regarding the medicinal treatment of even trifling 
ailments of their infants. They ought not to treat a 
scream simply as a scream, and rush to some quiet- 



254 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ing medicine they think may likely stop it, but should 
try to find out the cause of the scream, and take away 
that. It is wiser and better to prevent griping by a 
judicious alteration of diet, rather than simply attempt 
to deaden the pain by a draught. 

There might have been some excuse in years gone 
by, for mothers who purchased so many cordials and 
syrups, when doctors were not so numerous as they 
are now, and when fees were higher. There ought to 
be no excuse now. An intelligent parent will have no 
difficulty in eliciting the very best advice on all sub- 
jects relating to herself and infant; every family doc- 
tor expects a few minutes' chat at the house he visits, 
and this occasion should be chosen for asking him 
various minor questions. An enterprising mother can 
get a lot of information out of a communicative and 
cheerful doctor, if she choose, and thus save many 
excursions to druggists and postal orders to quacks. 

Too full a belief should not be maintained in the 
word "harmless,'' when drugs are inquired about or 
when advertisement pages are scanned. Harmless is, 
after all, merely a relative term, if not generally simply 
a trade expression, to be viewed with guarded amuse- 
ment, as a rule. Harm may not be done at the time, or 
even shortly afterwards ; but in after months or years 
the harvest of indiscretion or blind faith may be great. 
Happy are those infants who require no medicines; 
who have assimilated the best sustenance from their 
mother and are strong! 

A female infant will sometimes develop swollen and 
tender breast-glands. Old-fashioned nurses and ignor- 
ant midwives are very fond of noticing these. They 
delight in drawing a mother's attention to the con- 
dition, and in making her believe that it is a very 



CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE ANXIETY 255 

important one ; but above all, they pride themselves in 
being able to suggest a treatment. As an instance of 
brutal barbarity, nothing can equal the habit that some 
nurses have — and midwives too — of rubbing the 
breasts of female infants. If there should be the 
slightest sign of swelling or redness of the breasts, the 
nurse will proceed, as she says, to *'rub them down;" 
and this has even been done without there being any 
sign of abnormality about them. Cases have been seen 
where abscesses have formed on account of this prac- 
tice ; in fact, the present writer first became acquainted 
with this abominable system through a case of double 
abscess in an infant coming before his notice. The 
mother was questioned as to whether anything unusual 
had been done to the breasts of the patient, and she 
admitted that the nurse had thought that the breasts 
were too full, and she had been "rubbing them down." 
Such habits as these simply indicate the extent to which 
nurse-vanity will reach ; they grow out of an everlast- 
ing desire to appear wise; they may be learned from 
other nurses — in most cases they probably are — but 
the origin is always, really, a contemptible, meddle- 
some, little-minded vanity at bottom. 

A doctor recently exhibited before a foreign medical 
society a young married woman, delivered of a child 
twelve days previously, whose left breast was abso- 
lutely undeveloped. *'No trace of glandular tissue 
could be felt." The nipple lay against the ribs. The 
mother of this patient stated that her "nipple-strings 
had been broken" by the nurse after she bad been born. 
Who would ever dremn of the fact that many women are 
now wanting in properly developed busts because of the 
foolishness of their nurses f This habit of ignorance is 



2S6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

far commoner than many would imagine, and the 
above case shows that it prevails also abroad. 

Unless abscesses actually form, infants' breasts 
should be left severely alone. The moment any swell- 
ing or redness is observed the less done the better. 
Perfect rest and non-interference on the part of lay 
busybodies will allow Nature to run her curative 
course. Very rarely will abscess form if infants' 
breasts are left alone ; but they are almost sure to occur 
if any squeezing or rubbing is tried. 

Sometimes an infant will develop an unhealthy state 
of the mouth, manifested by a whitish coating on the 
tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks. This condi- 
tion also sometimes goes by the name of **thrush.'' 
There are many causes of it, and it will therefore vary 
a good deal in character. The commonest cause, how- 
ever, is improper feeding. It will be well for the reader 
to understand that the condition of the mouth proves 
also an unhealthiness of the whole digestive and intes- 
tinal tract. Indeed, mothers may observe for them- 
selves that an infant suffering from "thrush" will often 
be very sore about the back passage at the same time, 
while diarrhoea may also complicate matters. 

In order to treat this affection properly and prevent 
its recurrence, the diet should therefore be suitably 
readjusted, and, above all, the method of feeding 
should be altered if it is defective ; bottles and tubes 
should be perfectly cleansed, if they are used at all, for 
such provide a very fertile source of mischief. If the 
infant is feeding on the breast, then care should be 
taken that the nipples are properly cleansed in the 
manner advised in- a former chapter. A little medicine 
containin-g bismuth and soda will help to correct the 
catarrhal condition of the digestive tract at first, pre- 



CONDITIONS THAT CAUSE ANXIETY 257 

ventive measures being quite sufficient afterwards. 
For the mouth itself there is nothing better than a 
little powdered boracic acid (ten grains to the ounce 
of water), applied for a day or two about the mouth. 
Honey or glycerine with the boracic acid are not 
recommended, as they tend to undo all the good that 
the latter itself is capable of doing. 

My readers have once been infants, and their own 
infants will — let us hope — develop into creditable 
adults ; thus, one from the other, we spring. Few are 
perfect; many are a sorry disappointment to their 
Creator! Humanity is struggling hard in the great 
fight — in the keen competition. If health be the 
chiefest and first wealth — for without it nothing has 
a real value — then- should not all do their utmost to 
obtain it, and above all, watch and care for the inno- 
cent and helpless who are dependent — a progeny which 
is to convey good or bad characteristics according as 
we mature, rear, and educate it? Let us realize, that, 
after all, the solution of the problem of race degeneracy 
is within the power of each one of us contributing 
something; means of improvement lie in the hollow 
of our hands ; let us pause in our race for riches and 
ascendancy, striving for mere material gain and pass- 
ing pleasure, to remember that the sins of parents 
confer cruel afflictions upon their children. 

"To be well-favored is the gift of God." 

—TURNER. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE BLESSING OF CHILDREN 

It is not often one can find married people who really 
desire to have no children. Sometimes they will say 
that they do not want them, however, in order to save 
any reproach for not being blessed with them. While 
some have been known^ to go even further, and have 
led some of their friends to believe that they have 
adopted certain methods designed to prevent concep- 
tion taking place ; it is not at all uncommon for barren 
women to remark to those most intimate with them 
that they do not want a family, and that they know 
what to do in order to prevent conception, when in 
reality they have done their very best and failed. 

There are few disabilities that are more disliked 
than an incapacity to produce oflFspring; it often vexes 
both husband and wife to an^ unbearable extent. 
Friends of a childless couple will make comparisons in 
domestic life, and exultingly point out the blessings 
their own children have brought them. And, now and 
then, they will even ask, quietly and insinuatingly, 
certain unpleasant questions regarding the sexual rela- 
tionship which subsists between an unfortunate pair. 
Instances are known to the writer of constant and 
incurable bitterness existing between husband and 
wife, simply because the latter — so the husband has 
imagined, though it might be his own fault — is "not 
sufficiently a woman, to bear a child." In some cases 

258 



THE BLESSING OF CHILDREN 259 

he will never allow the grievance to be set aside; it 
is always there, and influences to some extent every 
thought and action in which both were concerned. In 
such instances it seems to the outside observer that it 
would be far better if a separation could take place, 
so that both could live out the rest of their lives in 
more suitable and congenial society. Such wretched 
husbands think that every other woman they meet 
is better than their own wife, and they often have 
the strongest inclinations to act unfaithfully — only to 
further intensify the dissatisfaction with their own 
wives. 

On the other hand, even just one child — what a 
priceless blessing to most right-minded people — it 
will add another irrefragable link to a bond of union; 
it will bridge over many little springs of discord, cre- 
ating a common interest and happiness, cementing the 
souls of both into an everlasting and undying unity. 
No; not always; that is true. But generally. It is 
the exception when such is not the case. Children 
will be the means of softening the harshness of the 
most brutal, and of converting the deadliest dissatis- 
faction into a full appreciation, in not a few instances. 

A wife once sought advice from the writer for 
dyspepsia and mental depression, and on being asked 
whether she had any troubles, she hesitatingly replied 
that she did not get on at all well with her husband. 
He had always been dissatisfied because she bore him 
no children; this grievance seemed to cause quarrel- 
lings and feelings of discontent at every turn, no 
matter what might be done to try and improve the 
situation. So she was advised to go away for a few 
weeks; it was pointed out to her that a temporary 
separation was a very good thing, for several reasons. 



26o THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

Firstly, it would stop the ''rows'' and "scenes/' and 
consequently improve the dyspepsia which resulted in 
a great measure from them. Secondly, it would enable 
the husband to calmly think over the whole matter, 
and would help him to recover a more reasonable 
frame of mind. Thirdly, absence would have some 
chance of making the heart grow fonder. And fourth- 
ly, probably the husband would find life alone rather 
dull, after all; he would miss all those little comforts 
he had grown to imagine came of themselves, and had 
very little to do with his wife. He would be obliged 
to look after many things in a manner that he was 
not in the least accustomed to ; even the meals he 
would require to give directions about, and then find 
fault with. He would be uncomfortable in many 
respects. 

She went away. Before very long she was quite 
surprised to receive letters from her husband which 
every day increased in size and tone of aflfection. Very 
soon came the anxious inquiry as to when she thought 
of returning, with explanations as to his difficulties, 
troubles — and even unhappiness — without her. She 
wisely thought, however, that it were better not to 
return too soon, that a good dose of this sort of cor- 
rective might just as well be administered at one 
and the same time. The cure worked beautifully. She 
remained away long enough to punish him pretty well 
for his past dissatisfaction, and to learn that, after all, 
he had some real regard for her. She herself at length 
rather wanted to return, coming under the influence 
of the evidence that her husband had grown contrite 
and was now showing a certain amount of regard for 
her, after all. 

This preparation for reunion gave the best promise 



THE BLESSING OF CHILDREN 261 

for a more cordial and harmonious future, which would 
be all the more likely to last as the prolonged separa- 
tion had in the end almost developed into an unendur- 
able agony. She returned. Their meeting distinctly 
showed that they now loved one another more than 
ever — at least neither had ever felt quite the same con- 
siderate feelings towards the other before. Everything 
of the past was forgiven; there was joy all round; 
even the cat purred more vigorously, while the dog 
barked its appreciation, of its master's unusual rapture 
and joined in the general reconciliation. 

Needless to say, the dyspepsia all vanished during 
the absence. Hearty meals could now be taken with- 
out discomfort. It almost seemed like a new honey- 
moon — in some ways even better. On.e morning, a 
few weeks afterwards, the wife kissed her husband 
and said she believed she was "in a family way." Soon 
her surmise was confirmed, and the two scarcely knew 
what domestic unhappiness was ever afterwards. 

One may merely witness the absorbing interest and 
love a mother shows for her children to realize the 
value of such. She would at any time give her life for 
one of them. And the father, what joy he shows 
when among his little ones ! There is no sensation to 
equal it — no diversion to compete with a romp with 
the youngsters. Parents will talk over the education 
of their children months before the latter are fit to 
commence ; they will think of employments years be- 
fore these can be engaged in. Thoughts of self — or 
of the other — between husband and wife, gradually 
merge into a double adoration for their oflfspring grow- 
ing up around them. 

A wife was once asked by her nearest friend whether 
she lived on the happiest terms with her husband. 



262 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

"Yes — now," was her reply. She explained that for a 
long time they used to have quarrels, but the advent of 
children changed all that. ''The children stop all 
serious 'rows' now," was her remark. 

As medical attendant I once had full opportunity 
for studying the lives of a husband and wife who both 
drank to excess, necessitating the occasional visit of 
a doctor. It so happened that these two were asked 
by certain members of their family, who were not 
aware of the domestic unhappiness that subsisted be- 
tween the two whether they would take a niece 
to live with them who had become an orphan. They 
could not well refuse, but at first thought that she 
might be in some ways a nuisance. I watched for 
months — and even years — the effect of this child upon 
the two. They began by making their house and gar- 
den more respectable than it had been for a long time 
past. Soon their personal appearance became more 
cared for. Eighteen months after the child's arrival 
I had occasion to professionally attend the husband, 
and to my astonishment found that both he and his 
wife had become total abstainers. The wife explained 
frankly to me that they were all the better for it ; "and 
my husband, too, he now does a lot of gardening, and 
we are both very fond of our dear child." 

In the above instance, even though the child was 
not their own, they developed such a regard for it, 
and acquired such a sense of duty, accumulating an 
amount of self-consideration, that compelled them to 
set a decent example, and obliged them to be careful 
what they did or said, until the time arrived when the 
chief diversion was not in quarrelling — but in amusing, 
educating, and tending the little one. 

But even when perfect harmony and contentment 



THE BLESSING OF CHILDREN 263 

prevails between husband and wife, children will con- 
vert selfishness into generous consideration for others ; 
they will create sympathies and affections for others, 
compelling the self-centered to take thought for others 
and to find happiness in working for others. Most 
right-minded people cultivate hobbies of some sort, 
or at least seek certain diversion from the irksome 
round of daily duty; the most absorbing and untiring 
parental hobby is usually the interests of the ''young- 
sters/' To such an extent do parents grow a regard 
for their children that ultimately many lose personal 
aspiration altogether in seeking advancement and 
happiness for those who will live after them. Thus 
are fortunes sometimes sought and made — chiefly and 
avowedly for the boys and girls to enjoy later on. 

"Thy children like olive plants, round about thy table. 
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them." 

—PSALMS. 



CHAPTER XXX 

CONCEPTION 

If women were to think over the subject at all — and 
most married w^omen are led to doiag so at some 
period of their lives — they could not help the fact 
coming into their minds very soon, that conception 
among human beings is comparatively rare considering 
the close and constant relationship which exists be- 
tween man and wife. It is quite exceptional for sexual 
association among animals to give negative results. 
Animals almost invariably conceive after a single sex- 
ual union. 

There cannot be a doubt that the constant living 
together of man and wife, instead of increasing the 
possibilities of conception, diminishes them. A woman 
is far more likely to conceive if she see her husband 
on rare occasions that if she be constantly his com- 
panion. This explains, to a great extent, the fact that 
animals so much more readily conceive than human 
beings. Animals are not so constantly together; they 
group or herd together, it is true, but Nature does not 
prompt them to close and undivided association over 
long periods. Moreover, Nature gives them certain 
seasons for changes to take place in them which ren- 
der them irresistibly attractive to their opposite sex. 
At certain times of the year animals give indications 
of alterations occurring in and about their womb and 

264 



CONCEPTION 265 

sexual organs, that are an equivalent to menstruation 
in woman, and the males instinctively perceive that 
these seasons are favorable for sexual association. 

Not only do animals sexually unite comparatively 
rarely, but they do so at a time that is absolutely the 
most favorable for producing offspring. It is quite 
different with human beings, who are not governed in 
their actions solely by natural or instinctive prompt- 
ings, but very much by artificial circumstances. Their 
sexual union is not effected with any particular under- 
standing that they ought to select a time that is most 
favorable to conception; indeed, as often as not just 
the very opposite is intended ; times are frequently 
chosen when conception is least likely, for definite 
reasons. 

It is practically impossible for animals to unite sexu- 
ally unless the proper ^'season'' for the female has 
arrived. At other times she will resist the slightest 
interference of an amorous nature, and will have none 
of it. Neither has the male a very strong desire while 
the female shows none; he knows what the ideas or 
feelings of the female are, by instinct, and is attracted 
or not accordingly. 

A short and simple comparison between the sexua! 
habits and tendencies of human beings and animals 
has been given, so that the reader shall better under- 
stand the subject of conception and the probabilities 
and possibilities of its taking place. There is a certain 
time for all animal and human females when concep- 
tion IS more likely to take place, and an effort has been 
made to show that animals instinctively choose this 
time for sexual union, while human beings may even 
avoid the corresponding period. Jewish people have 
a habit, as part of their religious principles, of avoiding 



266 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

sexual union during, and seven days after, the men- 
strual period. Hence one great reason for the rarity 
of human conception, as compared with the almost 
invariably fruitful union of animals. 

Considering that human beings are endowed with 
such highly complex and refined mental capacities, it 
will not be at all surprising that the mind has a good 
deal to do with conception. Nature provides animals 
with certain inclinations and apparent understandings 
which are chiefly purely instinctive processes and 
energies. Favorableness is found out, and engaged 
with, by sheer force of instinct ; and the same set of 
circumstances that leads to one thing leads to another, 
the female attractiveness that lures to intimate - 
association presenting also the prepared ground for 
conception and the growth of progeny within. But 
the attraction of women for men is also regulated 
largely by means of their mind, which reciprocates and 
meets, through its comprehension and intelligence, the 
faculties of the husband. She has certain features, and 
may even be fair, but she has also a brain by means 
of which she can indicate her sense of appreciation. 

When it is considered that man and wife have so 
many opportunities of sexual association, it will create 
some astonishment that only comparatively rarely will 
all things be perfectly favorable to conception, whether 
encouraged by body or mind. Yet it will now be more 
readily understood after a little thought how this 
comes to be so. 

The mind cannot constantly and forever help in 
demonstrating a favorable inclination, and we know 
perfectly well that if familiarity does not always breed 
contempt, it certainly tends to diminish sexual percep- 
tion and tendency in the long run. It is a fact that y 



CONCEPTION 267 

variety and contrast conduce to the largest amount of 
sensuousness and sexual indulgence, and it follows 
that sameness or uniformity leads to a lessening of 
inclination. Husbands and wives who do not see one 
another for a time come together again with renovated 
ardor and attraction. After an interval of separation 
the wife is much more likely to conceive than if she 
had not been apart for a long time. 

It has been observed that animals which are kept 
constantly together in a domesticated state have not 
the same inclination for sexual union as those which 
have met under wild, accidental, or more instinctive 
circumstances, even though their natural favorable 
"seasons" have appeared in due course. In some 
instances it has even been found impossible to induce 
animals to breed during close and uninterrupted associ- 
ation; but if the male be introduced after some period 
of separation, it will at once cause conception in most 
instances. 

In order to point out more clearly that close, con- 
stant and unchanging association between husband and 
wife makes a disinclination and consequently dimin- 
ished chances of conception, it is only necessary to 
draw the reader's attention to the interesting fact that 
conception often occurs in a new place of residence. In 
such a case no separation has occurred to create re- 
newed attractions on meeting again, but new sur- 
roundings have created refreshing sensibilities, which 
have stimulated the inclination. The change is per- 
ceived in a pleasing and exhilarating spirit conducive 
to mutual acceptance. 

The case is remembered of two brothers who were 
partners in business. They resolved, after a stroke 
of good luck, to take larger and better houses to live 



268 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

in, both going into occupation, with their wives and 
children at the same time — almost the same day. 
Their wives had not been pregnant for some time 
previous, their respective babies being three and two- 
and-a-half years old. Both conceived within, a few 
days of occupying their new houses. 

Some extraordinary instances might be given of 
women who had ceased to bear children for a number 
of years, again conceiving on account of some change 
or other in place of residence, or through being mar- 
ried a second time. Just one may be mentioned. A 
man and his wife had had two children, the youngest 
being sixteen years of age. They had never separated 
more than one night at any time, at least for twelve or 
thirteen years, and it was at length necessary for the 
man to go on a business excursion to the Continent. 
He was away three weeks. On his return, his wife 
conceived again, at once, and gave birth to another 
child when the time came. She had thought it quite 
impossible, after so long, to become pregnant again. 

Sea,side visits are most favorable to conception. 
Almost everything is perceived as a pleasant change ; 
even the health and spirits are usually improved. So 
many people visit the seaside nowadays that the effects 
as regards conceptioui are fairly well known. 

It might be interesting to the reader if some extra- 
ordinary views held by savages regarding conception 
were mentioned. Some of the native tribes of Central 
Australia have no notion that mankind is propagated 
by the union of the sexes. They believe that the 
spirits of their ancestors are constantly waiting near 
the "spiritual storehouse" for an opportunity to be 
born again into the world, and when these spirits see 
a favorable opportunity they pounce down upon any 



CONCEPTION 269 

woman or girl they see and effect a union with her. 
She then conceives. The spirits are supposed to 
choose only young and fat damsels. Therefore, if a 
woman be young, and have no desire to become preg- 
nant, she imagines she can prevent it, when having 
to pass the places frequented by spirits, by disguising 
herself as a withered old hag, bent double and lean- 
ing on a stick. 

Not only do certain savages manifest this ignorance 
concerning the reproduction of their species; an in- 
stance is recalled of a lady who finally declared her 
servant had become pregnant through the visitation of 
some Holy Spirit. The writer happened to be con- 
sulted about the state of health of this servant, the 
mistress explaining that the girl had been enlarging 
in the abdomen lately, and first she thought that some 
tumor growth was present to account for it. A little 
questioning showed that the mistress, who was an 
elderly spinster, was quite sincere in her original sup- 
position. After an examination it was found that the 
girl was pregnant, and with every consideration and 
delicacy the decision was communicated to her mis- 
tress. The lady was living with a bachelor brother, 
in a house desolately situated in the country, and 
being the daughter of a clergyman she had been 
brought up on very strict and narrow paths, never 
having been much away from home at any time of her 
life. The servant had been in her mistress's service 
for several years — in fact, had been trained in this 
situation ever since she left school. It was thought 
imposssible that she could have ever heard or dreamed 
of anything wrong, much less have had intimate inter- 
views with anyone of the opposite sex, so strict were 
her movements kept. Her mistress had supposed that 



270 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

the girl was as innocent and unacquainted as she was 
herself. 

The verdict of pregnancy was therefore received 
with not only astonishment but absolute disbelief. 
The mistress protested that such could not possibly 
be the case, for she could account for every movement 
of the girl's life. Both went away angry and dissatis- 
fied. ''Impossible! Impossible!'' This argument went 
on, month after month, until the child was born. Still 
the girl denied everything, and still her mistress had faith 
in her. On talking the matter over with the lady, after 
this conclusive event, the writer was appalled at the 
solemn and evidently well-believed statement of the 
mistress — that the poor girl must have been visited by 
some spirit or superhuman power. It was no joke, 
the woman honestly believed her theory, and did not 
blame the girl in the least, until many months after- 
wards, when this remarkable type of domestic inno- 
cency had to leave in a hurry. Her mistress went one 
evening into the kitchen to do something, and was 
proceeding to dry her hands behind the half-open out- 
side door when a hushed voice lisped: ''Well, dar- 
ling" The "spirit" flew from the house, and the 
mistress's brain. A real live lover it was! And the 
baby, which had been brought up in the mistress's 
house as a miraculous and heaven-sent blessing, was 
soon accommodated in a reluctant grand-mother's 
cottage. 

The remarkable case of Joanna Southcott is worth 
referring to, as an example of an opposite nature. She 
was a wt)man of humble extraction., born in Devon- 
shire in 1750. She began early to pose as a prophetess 
possessed with superhuman powers. She attracted a 
considerable following about the year 1792, when she 



CONCEPTION ; 271 

published her prophecies in prose and doggerel. 
Among these was a ''Prophecy concerning the Prince 
of Peace," whom she was to bring forth herself ! It is 
thus further reported concerning her: — "In 1814 it 
was announced that she was with child, and would 
shortly give birth to 'Shiloh.' Great excitement was 
caused when her expectations were confirmed. A 
magnificent silver cradle was prepared and expensive 
preparations made in royal style. The time of the 
nativity was fixed 19th October, 1814. That day and 
succeeding night the house in which Joanna lived was 
surrounded with crowds of the credulous and curious. 
But the day passed and no child was born ; it was, 
moreover, officially notified that the prophetess had 
fallen into a trance. The poor fanatic was really suf- 
fering from dropsy, and died shortly afterwards. Her 
followers, however, would not believe that she was 
dead ; they supposed that there was a mere temporary 
suspension of her vital powers, and even after her 
interment some believed she would rise again and ful- 
fil her prediction. Before her death she avowed that 
'if she has been misled, it was by some spirit, good 
or evil.' Many still believed in the truth of her pre- 
tensions." 

The writer has been particularly struck with certain 
instances of dread on the one hand, and desire on the 
other, regarding the possibility of bearing a child — 
wishes that have been as clearly opposite as anything 
could be. Women have been known — and the reader 
must have heard of them too — to resort to even crim- 
inal procedures in order to dissipate a conception; 
while on the other hand, others have even gone so 
far as to engage a resident medical man who should 
give indications to his patient from day to day, or hour 



2^2 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

to hour if necessary, as to what she should do and 
how she should proceed, in order to retain the foetus 
after haying conceived. The lady may be referred to 
who never walked even during early pregnancy, 
though she seemed in the best of health. She had had 
one miscarriage, and she wished so much to give birth 
to a living child that she was either carried or wheeled 
about in a chair during all the months of gestation. 
Such was her determination and perseverance. 

Perhaps the commonest and most serious reason for 
the urgent desire of a wife to bring forth a child is the 
supposition on the part of the husband that there is 
something wrong with his wife, something anatomi- 
cally or physiologically defective. He grows dissatis- 
fied, and considers that he has been cheated ; he feels 
aggrieved that he is tied to a partner of imperfection. 
He thinks that others imagine him to have only a poor 
specimen for a wife. He is angry about it. This cause 
of urgent desire to have children is mentioned the 
more particularly because it very often means an un- 
happy state of living generally, and as often as not it 
leads to a great deal of ill-feeling and wretchedness 
between husband and wife. 

A couple was once known to have developed such 
a state of dissatisfaction and despondency that they 
decided to adopt a child, after failing to create one 
of their own during the first three years of their mar- 
ried life. Within two weeks of obtaining what they 
considered a sufficiently suitable one the wife became 
pregnant. This was a remarkable circumstance, and 
one rather hard to explain. Probably the joy and 
pleasure of having a baby to look after raised the wife's 
spirits, and further stimulated the desire to beget one 
of her own ; or it may be that the shame of being bar- 



CONCEPTION 273 

ren was exacerbated by the possession of someone 
else's child. When her own child was born she loved 
it so much more than the adopted one, naturally, that 
she soon had the latter one placed elsewhere. It is 
interesting to note further, in this connection, that the 
care and fondling of the young is often known to 
engender a disposition, and even ability, on the part 
of the foster-mother to become productive herself. 

Very often a wife thinks her husband is at fault if 
there are no signs of a family. This idea often leads to 
the very greatest unhappiness; and instances have 
been known of husbands who have even gone so far as 
to prove their capability of producing progeny by 
acting unfaithfully, separations or divorces soon fol- 
lowing. Even wives have been known to do the same 
thing, believing that their husbands were not sound ; 
and in some instances the husband has been led to be- 
lieve that he was the real father in order to make 
things happier for both. All may be well that ends 
well, but such methods could scarcely be recom- 
mended. Most people would admit that it were better 
to remain childless than to break one of the com- 
mandments and practice a cruel deception. 

Failure to induce pregnancy will sometimes give 
rise to imagined pregnancies, as we have already seen. 
In some cases the desire to bear a child exists so long, 
and becomes so urgent to both husband and wife, that 
the latter begins to imagine she really has conceived. 
Her nervous system may be so influenced that an 
increase in size really does take place, and what is 
known as a "phantom tumor" appears. Doctors were 
formerly sometimes a little puzzled by these false 
swellings, finding it difficult to decide what they were, 
but they are now able to clear away all doubts quickly 



274 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

by the administration of an anaesthetic. If a woman 
have a ^'phantom tumor" this will disappear when she 
is rendered unconscious by chloroform. 

There was once great joy in a house when a wife 
announced to her husband that she was certainly 
pregnant. They had waited patiently for two years 
and the misery of hopeless expectation was becoming 
too awful to bear, especially as all sorts of accusations 
and quarrellings were becoming fairly frequent. As 
all friends seemed to show just a very little doubt as 
to the actual condition of the wife, the doctor was sent 
for and an- examination made. To her annoyance she 
was told that no pregnancy existed, but that she 
merely had a ''phantom tumor/' She implored the 
doctor not to tell her husband, because the latter was 
so pleased she was at last pregnant, and she made a 
suggestion to him ; the doctor, however, left without 
seeing the husband, and with a fixed determination not 
to be party to any design such as had been referred to. 

The wife kept the doctor's true verdict a secret from 
her husband, and for a long time deliberated within 
herself as to what she should do. She had seen what 
pleasure her husband had derived from the prospect of 
her having a child, and she had observed how different 
he was towards her on this account; she felt that she 
would do anything to present him with a child — even 
if it must be someone's else. So she thought out the 
whole matter very carefully, and came to the conclu- 
sion that she might smuggle in an infant belonging to 
some other woman, pretending that she herself had 
given birth to it. 

The doctor was again sent for, and the scheme was 
more fully talked over with him. What could it mat- 
ter to him, she argued, so long as everything passed 



CONCEPTION 275 

off all right. Would he not help her in this urgent 
endeavor to please her husband? He replied that he 
could not. He sympathized with her thoroughly, but 
could be no party to what was a most deceptive and 
dishonest procedure, in spite of her beseechings and 
protestations. On leaving the house, after the inter- 
view, she appealed to him again once more to think 
the matter over and help her, adding, deliberately, as 
he drove off from the front door, the words : ''I shall 
send for you when the time comes !" 

The time came. The woman had meanwhile dis- 
covered a country laborer's wife who had advanced in 
pregnancy sufficiently to suit the date of her own con- 
finement which everyone expected — excepting herself 
and the doctor. She had made private arrangements 
to adopt the child of this poor woman for a premium, 
while the strictest secrecy was to be observed as to 
where the infant was to go, and all about it. 
Everything was timed to a nicety. Doctor and nurse 
were sent for just after the new-born infant had been 
transferred to the house and placed in bed, and every- 
body was iuv a hurry with reddened and anxious faces, 
appearing as they generally do when childbirth is the 
order of the night. 

The doctor arrived, and his '^hard heart'' with him 
— but no midwifery bag. He responded to the call, of 
course; having merely received the message to go as 
soon as he could, he thought it quite possible that 
there was a genuine case of sickness in the house. 
He arrived and proceeded to the bedroom — there to 
hear the crying of an infant! In solemn and firmly- 
meant tones, after asking the rest to leave the room, 
he told the wife that he could not possibly enter into 
the deception, for if the truth ever leaked out he would 



276 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

be ruined. He left resolved to have no more to do 
with the case, after remonstrating with the wife for 
not taking him at his former word. 

The husband, not quite understanding the move- 
ments and demeanor of the doctor and others, hastily 
proceeded upstairs in order to find out exactly what 
the state of affairs was. There he found his wife 
speechless ; she was completely undone. After some 
silence, and a few tears, the nurse was ultimately 
compelled to explain the proposed deception. There 
was endless bother afterwards, an.d the last state of 
the married relationship was worse than the first. 

Now let us remember what conception is at this 
stage of our thought. It results from the meeting of 
what are called spermatozoa — those fertilizing agents 
which come from the male during sexual intercourse 
— and ova, which escape from their location near the 
wpmb of a woman, and which eventually find their 
way in to the womb through certain tubes, about the 
time that a monthly period is either commencing, go- 
ing on, or passing off. 

Menstruation is a function which prepares the 
womb for any good chance it may have of harboring a 
foetus. The minute ova, or eggs, pass into the womb 
somewhere about the time that the womb is thus 
preparing itself. If one should happen to meet a 
spermatozoon there, it becomes impregnated or fe- 
cundated — that is, the spermatozoon joins the ovum 
and they become one, the impregnated ovum after- 
wards undergoing rapid and remarkable changes in 
development with the womb. 

There are one or two points concerning this im- 
pregnation or conception which wives ought to know. 
Though it is more likely to occur somewhere about 



CONCEPTION 2^^ 

the time of a monthly period, and most likely of all 
just afterwards, for reasons already given., it may yet 
occur at any time between the periods. There is no 
hard and fast time respecting its occurrence. The 
seasons of highest sexual sensation in a woman are 
just before and after the menstruation period; so that 
everything points to these times as being the most 
favorable for conception; indeed, extensive observa- 
tion has proved such to be the case. 

Now, the passage of an ovum in a woman is more 
or less irregular as regards time, in relation to the 
menstrual flow; and, moreover, the exact position it 
occupies in or out of the womb at the moment of 
impregnation is very variable and subject to dispute; 
so also is the behavior of the male spermatozoon very 
variable under dififerent circumstances. Pregnancy 
has been known to occur when ordinary complete sex- 
ual connection had been impossible, on account of 
malformations of the female organs of generation, 
showing that in some instances the male discharge 
need only be outside — so long as there is any passage 
at all communciating with the womb — or at any rate, 
a very little distance within the female canal — in order 
that conception may occur. 

It is true that the more complete the act of con- 
nection the more likely conception is to occur, other 
things being equal — that is to say, if there is no other 
reason why conception should not occur. If the male 
discharge is deposited right at the very neck of the 
womb, or even into it, then conception would be far 
more likely than in the rare outside case just men- 
tioned. 

The male spermatozoa have remarkable powers of 
finding their way within the female passage. Infini- 



278 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

tesimal as they are, and only capable of being seen 
under powerful magnifying glasses, they are rapid 
and very energetic in their movements, and they will 
find their way very quickly to desired situations, 
where they may meet an ovum. 

This subject has been touched upon because wives 
might labor under the very mistaken notion as to 
what is sufficient to cause pregnancy and what is not. 
Some rules, probabilities, and exceptions are given so 
that the reader .may have some useful idea concerning 
such matters. 

The reader might further be interested to know that 
injections of fluids, used for the illegal purpose of 
preventing conception, or for ordinary cleanliness' 
sake, will not always kill the spermatozoa; they will 
kill them if they can reach them, whether they be of 
a nature as simple as water itself or whether they are 
the m;ost powerful drugs. Sometimes the sperma- 
tozoa will be so far injected, and the sexual exercise 
of function on the part of both will be such, that 
same of the fluid will find its way into the neck of the 
womb (not merely near it, as is common) during the 
very act of connection, and will remain there ; it may 
thus pass in out of reach of any fluids injected in the 
ordinary way. It could not be denied that injections 
of fluids into the vagina will be likely to kill the sper- 
matozoa in a good many instances, but they will not do 
so always, by any means. 

Women should remember that pregnancy may pos- 
sibly occur even though there have been no appear- 
ance of the monthlies for some time (which suppres- 
sion has occurred on account of ill-health or former 
childbirth). The ova are deposited in the womb in 
such cases, in spite of a cessation of menstruation. 



CONCEPTION 279 

Pregnancy has even been known to occur when no 
menstruation has ever taken place in a woman. 

"All thoughts, all passions, all delights, 
Whatever stirs this mortal frame, 
All are but ministers of Love, 
And feed his sacred flame." 

—COLERIDGE 



CHAPTER XXXI 

STERILITY 

The constant close association of the human sexes 
has already been referred to as having effects very 
different from those produced by the accidental or 
purely instinctive meeting as commonly occurs 
among animals in a v^ild state ; the former has been 
shown to be much less productive than the latter. It 
would therefore seem fair to deduce from these facts 
that too close and constant association is a very potent 
factor in the promotion of sterility. 

The truth of the matter is, that among other 
necessary conditions there must be favorable states 
of mind and body, if conception is to take place, and 
constant close association tends to diminish those fav- 
orable states. We have observed these facts, not only 
among wild animals, but also among animals kept 
in domestication. It is true that animals have but poor 
thinking powers, yet whatever perceptions they have 
tend to influence their physical and physiological 
changes and their inclinations. 

Most movements proceed from the brain, the organ 
of perception, of both man and beast, whether ruled 
by instinct pure and simple, or by higher thought: 
and, though inclination is a strong factor, this will not 
explain so many instances of sterility that are ob- 
served from the very first cohabitation ; it will rather 

280 



STERILITY 281 

give a reason why the tendency to conception vanishes 
altogether. Therefore the writer will proceed to deal 
with other causations of sterility, some of which have 
never been dealt with before by authors. 

In considering this subject the reader must at the 
outset appreciate the fact that human marriages so 
often constitute a more or less artificial meeting of 
the sexes, rather than a natural one. Thus many 
young men and women meet by design — such meet- 
ing have been frequently engineered by some skilled 
match-maker — the date of wedding having been ar- 
ranged months beforehand, probably; they do not 
meet either accidentally or by instinct, as animals do. 
Therefore in a large number of instances the most 
perfect natural preparation is wanting, initial sexual 
union not being so likely to be fruitful under the cir- 
cumstances. The immediate inclinations of one or 
the other, or more likely both, not being developed 
to the high pitch reached in more accidental meetings, 
in very many instances, the results of union will be 
more likely to prove negative. It is a fact that very 
many women — not so much men — are quite unpre- 
pared for a sexual act directly they are married. Some 
are absolutely innocent, and sometimes even fright- 
ened, on first occupying the same bed with one of 
the opposite sex. Some readers will hardly believe 
this, others will know it to have been the case with 
themselves. And, when artificial preparation and ar- 
ranged meetings have occurred, the act of union will 
not only, in some instances, be misunderstood, but 
will even be quite abhorrent. This need not be very 
surprising when we understand that the performance 
of a sexual act largely depends upon certain asso- 
ciated feelings preceding and accompanying it. If 



282 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

these feelings should be absen,t, then what might be 
quite acceptable, or even desirable, may be compara- 
tively loathsome. 

But take the case of a couple, both having de- 
veloped such ardent love for one another as has led 
them straight to the local hotel at night ; such a union 
v^ill very likely turn out fruitful on the very first oc- 
casion. Many women go through a whole married 
life without deriving aniy pleasure from sexual union, 
simply because their earliest and continued associa- 
tions with the opposite sex have been artificial and 
cold, and nothing has afterwards occurred to induce 
warmth. Such early coldness is very frequently dis- 
pelled later on by certain changes or modes of liv- 
ing. Sometimes a couple will marry and remain quite 
cold toward one another, so to speak, for many 
months ; then circumstances will occur that necessi- 
tate a temporary parting — perhaps the husband will 
be obliged to go away for some time on business. On 
coming together again the desires and sexual sensa- 
tions will be greatly augmented — if they are not now 
actually perceived for the first time — because the 
novelty and early strangeness of the situation is now 
quite an old story, and the two will fall more easily 
into one another's arms, having had an interval to 
think well over the matter ; they will now accept one 
another more for their own sakes, and at a higher and 
fuller estimation. 

There are some who never get over this early cold- 
ness and indiflFerence ; there are some who never tem- 
porarily part. Early frigidity, in such instances, 
seems to freeze up all the desires, nothing occurring 
afterwards to thaw them. Coldness also tends to be- 
get more and more, and very often the longer a cou- 



STERILITY 283 

pie remain together the more unresponsive they be- 
come. 

Most medical men meet a .good many instances of 
married indifference and inactivity in their experi- 
ence. A couple once married and went through a 
very short honeymoon rather unhappily and very 
coldly. The wife had not been altogether thoughtless 
and innocent, but she had been distinctly unmoved 
and very uninterested at the idea of anything sexual. 
Her husband was oT the unenterprising and phleg- 
matic order, who did not choose to argue the point 
much; indeed, having but very poor encouragement, 
he did not care to be selfish and to take his own way 
entirely. Weeks went on, until he thought there was 
not much use in occupying the same bed, if his wife 
wanted leaving her severely alone, so he proposed 
sleeping elsewhere. At this suggestion, for the first 
time since their marriage, she now returned just a lit- 
tle reciprocal indication of friendly, if not exactly sex- 
ual, regard; she did not want him to go. Learning 
now that a threat of parting was a capital plan to 
adopt, the husband thought he would go still further 
and stay away altogether for a few nights. The 
scheme acted splendidly, and there was soon a more 
becoming happiness created between, them. 

Nervousness will account for a good many cases 
of unusual demeanor or conduct during early, and 
even later, married life. There are some people so 
nervous — and peculiarly nervous — that they feel they 
cannot become thoroughly reconciled to their partner 
in every respect. Their timidity or fear never seems 
to leave them, and consequently, though sexual union 
may take place, it never results in conception, being 
indulged in more because it is looked upon as a duty, 



284 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

or in order to give the other pleasure even though 
quite distasteful to the one. 

A very remarkable case once came before the wri- 
ter's notice, which shows the effects of nervousness, 
and illustrates the very strange conduct of both hus- 
band and wife under the circumstances. A wife 
sought advice for certain nervous symptoms, and a 
very full history of her case was required. After the 
first interview, during which she seemed somewhat 
reticent on some points, she departed, intimating at 
the same time that there was something else which 
she wished to communicate another time; she further 
explained that she lived on such tenms with her hus- 
band that perhaps accounted in a measure for her 
state of general ill-health, but she would give par- 
ticulars about that on another occasion, as she scarce- 
ly felt equal to proceeding any further just then. On 
next in^terviewing her it was ascertained that she had 
been married for six years, but that her husband had 
never had sexual association with her. This patient 
had finally been led to giving a full account of herself 
by being closely and necessarily questioned as to her 
barrenness, and concerning other matters associated 
with the womb — an organ so often involved in nerv- 
ous conditions. 

The case seemed so very unusual that the writer's 
interest was increased, and a very searching inquiry 
was made as to the early days of the married life of 
this couple, in order to fathom the full nature of her 
nervous condition, so that she might be successfully 
treated. The woman explained that she had always 
been so sensitive and nervous that from the very first 
she implored her husband to "leave her alone." He 
was very devoted to her, and had such consideration 



STERILITY 285 

for her feelings that he remained entirely submissive 
to her entreaties, and even went so far as to sympa- 
thize with her in her troubles. She always complained 
to him of great pain and distress when any attempt at 
coitus was made. She explained: ''My husband is a 
very kind man, a very religious and good man, and 
he has never thought of going against my wish." 
The man, moreover, was observed by the writer to 
have rather a dull and passive disposition ; at the same 
time there seemed to be a good deal of kindness of 
heart and religious resignation about him, as I gath- 
ered from conversation* with him. After so many 
years they had grown quite used to living together in 
this manner, and appeared to think very little of it. 

The woman's general condition was studied; her 
nerves were improved by medicine, gen.eral princi- 
ples of treatment being also adopted ; then both she 
and her husband were strongly advised to commence 
sexual union, no matter how disagreeable or painful 
it might be to the woman at first. In» a few months 
she conceived. This case was the more remarkable 
because the two always got on with one another so 
well in every other respect. They were perfectly 
happy otherwise, and thought a good deal of one 
another. 

Some married couples never get on well together 
from the first, in any way. They have perhaps been 
led into marriage by various circumstances over which 
they have had little control ; while they have gone on 
a honeymoon, and taken up housekeeping, because 
they have felt more or less obliged. The reader will 
even have heard of instances in which women have 
married, and have, both before and afterwards, loved 
someone else better. "You are looking forward to 



286 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

your wedding I suppose, Maude?'' was a question ad- 
dressed by a relative to a flirty, flighty woman of 
some thirty years of age. "Well,'' she replied, '1 
am, in one way, and not in another ; I like the i'dea of 
a house of my own, and plenty of money for dress, 
but I cannot say I am overwhelmed with love for 
him." This was said in feminine confidence, of course, 
and, again, of course, repeated to several others di- 
rectly afterwards. It was a fact that the woman was 
attractive, while the man was quite the opposite. But 
he had money ! 

Sterility is very often entirely due to some malfor- 
mation or other in the wife, the commonest of these 
being a too small opening into the womb. This re- 
quires dilating with instruments, or even, in rare in- 
stances, making larger by cutting. Another com- 
paratively common defect is a turning or bending of 
the womb in one direction or another, which requires 
placing in a proper position by a medical man, to be 
kept there for sometime by a supporting instrument, 
or even by means of a fixing operation. Such condi- 
tions are easily treated by specially skilled medical 
practitioners ; little need further be mentioned regard- 
ing them here, excepting that no home remedies are of 
any use. 

Unhealthy discharges often prevent conception, by 
killing the male element necessary for conception. 
Conditions which give rise to the discharges may 
themselves also preven»t conception, or induce abor- 
tion, as the case may be. If sterility persist, after 
carrying out some of the suggestions made above — 
which, for obvious reasons, cannot be fully described 
to the fair and sensitive reader — then medical advice 
should be obtained in order to ascertain exactly what 



STERILITY 287 

physical defect is present as a causation. It would 
be quite impossible in this book to give hin^ts for the 
correction of some forms of sterility that depend upon 
the closest relationship, mental, physical, and even 
postural, between husband and wife; the reader must 
deduce what she can from the arguments and reason- 
ing given, and draw her own conclusions. 

It must not be forgotten that sterility may be put 
down to a woman, as her fault, when in reality it 
depends upon her husband. There can be malforma- 
tions or deficiencies in his anatomy as well, to ac- 
count for all. Then, again, the illicit intercourse of a 
man before marriage will sometimes render him in- 
capable of producing oflfspring, causing, as this often 
does, certain acute inflammatory diseases of the gen- 
erative organs which destroy their proper functions. 

"Hope on — nor art thou reaUy old. 
Who have but years that seem." 

—HILL. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE SIZE OF FAMILIES AND LIMITATION 

The answer to the question, How large should a 
family be? will entirely depend upon circumstances — 
upon imeans, and upon ideas. There are some who 
think that one child is enough ; the writer remembers 
a good mother of a family of eleven saying she did 
not mind how many she had — she thought that chil- 
dren were the greatest blessing imaginable ! She 
loved them all, and would never dream of attempt- 
ing to limit the number. She was contented and 
happy, and her husband was also; therefore why trou- 
ble about it, they thought. 

The reader will at once realize that those who wish 
for a small n.umber in family do so generally for par- 
ticular reasons ; either they feel that they cannot afford 
to bring up more than a certain number, or there is 
reason to believe that the mother's health will not 
bear many repetitions of those exhausting trials and 
worries which giving birth and nursing involves; 
again, ill-health of the children may suggest that there 
had better be no more. What shall we do with our 
boys and girls? are questions that engage parents' 
serious attention more urgently nowadays, when liv- 
ings are not so easily obtainable ; and there is no won- 
der that many, even of the comparatively well-to-do, 

288 



SIZE OF FAMILIES AND LIMITATION 289 

think that the fewer sons to start in the world the 
less future anxiety will there be. Ill-health is a seri- 
ous consideration on account of the expense it en- 
tails. Should the first, or the first two children cause 
months of weariness and delicate health, then doctors' 
bills and sundry long visits to health resorts will make 
parents think twice before they run much further risk. 

Parsons and poor people often distinguish them- 
selves by having large families. Many might won- 
der why such individuals should be so many times 
blessed. The idea doubtless possesses most of the 
former that "God will provide," and that any notions 
of limitation are not pleasing to the Almighty. It is 
hard to account for such productiveness, unless it be 
on account of the healthy, happy, and harmonious re- 
lationship that, as a rule, subsists between husband 
and wife. As regards poor people, one might sup- 
pose that indifference and thoughtlessness operated 
on the one hand, and good health and plenty of work 
on the other, all combining to make a happy home, 
with no refined thoughts or ambitions for a great 
future. A workman only sees his wife just before 
bed-time, getting up early again in the morning ; there 
are just those temporary little daily separations oc- 
curring so regularly in this class of life that stimu- 
late desires and refresh affections. A laborer also 
knows that whatever children he has will soon begin 
to earn money, and will always get a living by doing 
something. But most of the poorer classes hardly 
ever think of these thin^gs seriously at all. 

If parsons and poor people beget many children, 
those who have few are the unhealthy, the unhappy, 
and the French. The unhealthy and unhappy have 
already been referred to, auid some explanation has 



290 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

been given of cause and effect; but there does not 
seem to be a very clear reason why French people 
should have proverbially small families, unless their 
systems of preventing conception and procuring abor- 
tion are very effectual and commonly practised. The 
character and disposition of the French would lead 
one to suppose that they would be very prolific ; good- 
natured, high-spirited, pleasure-loving, they ought to 
have large families — unless these traits in character 
render them susceptible to various forms and degrees 
of ill-health which militate against conception. 

Excitability may account for a good deal. Highly- 
strung and neurotic as many of the French women 
are, they are less likely to be blessed with a firm and 
lasting union between spermatozoon and ovum than 
their phlegmatic and quieter sisters of other nations, 
by very force of nervous constitution. Taking all 
things into consideration, therefore, it does not ap- 
pear to be quite definitely indicated how it is that 
French families are small as a rule. It certainly is 
not on account of self-denial, for in sexual matters 
everyone knows that French views are extremely free 
• — and may even be inordinately excessive. 

We need not 'doubt that the French have been very 
sagacious and painstaking in their study of methods 
of preventing conception and of procuring abortion. 
It is a common belief that they know more than any 
other people about such matters ; that is not really the 
case, however, excepting perhaps among the gayer 
classes. Even though French scientists have worked 
very hard on such problems, they do not seem to have 
arrived at any higher understanding than is pos- 
sessed in less erotic countries. French people, as a 
whole, may appear to know more because their fami- 



SIZE OF FAMILIES AND LIMITATION 291 

lies are smaller; thus they may really be given credit 
for knowing far more than they do. 

"Oft begetting — oft productive; 
Set a limit — less seductive I" 

—ALLAN. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 

The *'green-eyed monster'' is not at all easy to de- 
fine, though one would be quite safe in describing it 
as a very ugly disposition that is capable of working 
an immense amount of mischief. Taking stock of a 
good many cases, there would appear to be about four 
forms of jealousy as aflFecting husband and wife, 
which I will classify as founded, unfounded, insane, 
and concealed. 

If the conduct of either husband or wife with some 
one else of the opposite sex be distinctly irregular, 
such as to excite real suspicion, and if it should seem 
that the harmonious life of love and affection that has 
formerly subsisted between the two is being threat- 
ened with the sustained disturbance of a third party, 
then jealousy is almost sure to be aroused which we 
may consider founded. The particular conduct may 
be of various kinds and degrees ; it may consist chiefly 
of conversation, and very little else, or it may be rep- 
resented by some very definite association, such as a 
drive together, or a walk. It is extremely difficult to 
draw hard and fast lines in defining conduct of any 
kind, if for only one reason, tliat nearly all ideas and 
habits vary so much according to class and age. And 
it IS likewise difficult to define where founded jeal- 
ousy ends and unfounded begins, just as it is some- 

292 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 293 

times impossible to distinguish whether an act be sane 
or insane when simply judged without very full and 
careful consideration of many circumstances. 

A gentleman of position may grow jealous if he 
see his wife walking twice down the same street with 
same man, though the occurrence had been a coinci- 
dence only. But a laboring man, on the other hand, 
finding his wife drinking beer with another man at a 
neighboring bar, might only ask the other man to 
pay for some refreshment all round, and say no more 
about it. Moreover, merely a slight indication of 
wavering aflfection between husband and wife may 
be greatly magnified, and therefore the more readily 
observable, if certain conduct towards a third party is 
being carried on at the same time that coolness fram other 
causes is developing in one or other of the married pair. 

It is quite remarkable how often diflferences of con- 
duct or changes of aflfection are manifested without 
the changing party being conscious of them — or at 
least without being conscious of exhibiting them. 
Wavering men and women are so much like the os- 
trich which thinks itself quite hidden when its head 
is buried in the sand. They may perhaps be led into 
very slight departures from the ordinary by some 
strange chance circumstance, and may frequently 
betray some very definite indication of an unstable 
devotion without for a moment supposing that others 
have noticed. A wife will perhaps be asked three 
times in an evening for a dance by the same com- 
parative stranger. She may not even trouble to re- 
member that she has danced with him three times — 
but the husband may, and he will very likely speak 
about it. Expressions and protestations of inno- 
cence, afterwards, do not always count for much, un- 



294 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

fortunately; indeed, they often only serve to intensify 
the annoyance ; in other words, when either a husband 
or a wife is vexed or jealous, he or she is the last per- 
son in the world to take much notice of excuses or 
explanations. 

Love, and more particularly passion, is such a very 
powerful cause of slight temporary mental aberration. 
Men and women will sometimes act, when under the 
influence of a passion, in such a mann,er that if they 
had happened to be the observers instead of the ob- 
served they would have considered this same act a 
most foolish and almost insane one. Instances are 
not at all un>common in which a wife pursues a line 
of conduct that is exactly similar or proportionate to 
one often practised by her husband on other occa- 
sions, and in each instance the one reproves the other 
for their folly or wrong-doing. The writer uses the 
word proportionate advisedly, for it is commonly es- 
timated that what a man may do without incurring 
any reprimand, a woman must on no account attempt. 

Nothing shows the difference of idea concerning 
conduct better than such questions as these : What 
would you have thought if she had been your wife? 
or, What would you think if your own daughter acted 
thus? A man once wandered away from the regular 
path of constancy and asked another man's wife 
whether she would go with him for a row up the 
river; the latter, however, replied: "Do you know 
whether any man ever asked your wife to go up the 
river with him?" The man blushed, and with his 
tongue in his cheek soon made himself scarce. A 
young man once asked a girl acquaintance whether 
she would smoke a cigarette, saying: "It is nothing; 
plenty of girls go in for that sort of thing," where- 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 295 

upon, the girl said : "Oh, really ! Your sisters smoke, 
I suppose?'' The fellow at once changed the subject. 

It will therefore be seen that the point of view is 
everything in these matters. Most differences of 
opinion are created by the mere fact that we cannot 
always see ourselves as others see us, and also by the 
fact that circumstances alter cases. A wayward man 
will argue with his wife that his conversation with a 
flirt meant nothing; indeed, he will even persuade 
himself that he meant nothing, until the wife asks: 
**Then why did you go out of your way to speak to 
her?" By his failure to give a satisfactory reply, he 
shows her that he has been going a little wrong, and 
he shows himself, also, that his wife's interference 
was in a certain sense justifiable — though he will not 
openly admit this. 

Only the impartial outside observer can properly 
judge conduct that involves the finer degrees of op- 
posite-sexed attention. Those under the influence of 
love, affection, or passion are like subjects hypnotized ; 
their judgment or mental calculation is governed very 
largely by intense thoughts and anticipations concern- 
ing the other in the case. 

Jealousy may be founded on conduct of different 
degrees. A man or woman may have strange ideas 
regarding propriety, governed it may be by idiosyn- 
crasy of character or perhaps even by religious views. 
In countries or districts where the people consider it 
going against God to walk out anywhere on Sundays, 
excepting to or from church, one can well imagine 
that jealousies may arise on account of conduct or cir- 
cumstances that people of other districts, having freer 
customs, would take no notice of. Then, again, ideas 
regarding common domestic behavior of either hus- 



296 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

band or wife may be totally different. A wife may 
have been brought up in the United States and a hus- 
band in China, so that their notions of propriety may 
be as different as are the people of these two portions 
of the earth's surface. 

In China the natives conduct themselves in the 
streets in ways that would be considered utterly de- 
grading and shocking in this country. Ideas of de- 
corum or propriety engendered in the minds of men 
who have travelled about the world may not coincide 
very well with those of their friends always staying 
at home. Now, as many marriages are contracted 
when a man is home on. leave, and as girls very fre- 
quently leave their country homes of comparative in- 
nocence for far-off climes, there to join in wedlock 
some old friend they had had an "understanding" 
with many years ago, on^ may well imagine that the 
instances are not a few where very great differences 
of opinion regarding right conduct arise, and where 
jealousies sometimes spring up before a new home 
is well warmed. I remember well the case of a girl 
going over to Japan to marry a man in the Consular 
service. She was at once shocked at the tender and 
intimate regard which some of the Japanese servants 
showed for her lover and husband. 

Hence we have what may be termed unfounded 
jealousy, where one or the other thinks there has not 
been the slightest reason for the disposition showing 
itself. When this form makes its appearance, things 
promise rather unfavorably. In such a case there will 
probably be so many differences of thought, not only 
regarding association or conduct with someone of 
the opposite sex, but also concerning many other mat- 
ters. A married couple suffering under various dif- 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 297 

ferences of opinion will be likely to have rather a 
miserable time of it before long; and there may be no 
end of squabbling and arguing once firm and opposite 
attitudes are taken up in one or two main directions. 

The simple innocence of one may be a fruitful cause 
of jealousy arising in the other. A woman may con- 
duct herself in a manner she considers quite harmless 
herself, but which is thought to be altogether other- 
wise by her husband. She may be led into a trap un- 
wittingly, through being innocent of the danger of 
certain early or preliminary manoeuvres of a man. Her 
husband may not know exactly by what paths she has 
reached a now more serious position, and he may 
therefore be led to judge too harshly, and take far too 
grave a view of the situation ; he may grow jealous 
over a circumstance in which his wife had been alto- 
gether quite undesigning. I can recall the instance 
of a man who never forgave his wife, whom he had 
discovered walking with a stranger under an um- 
brella on a very wet night. The stranger had seen 
the unprotected situation, and was just giving up his 
umbrella, quickly following up his kindness by oflFer- 
ing to escort her "on the same way,'' when the hus- 
band found them before she could think twice and 
decline. 

It IS astonishing how jealousy grows and feeds 
upon so little, once something has occurred to excite 
even a very small amount of it. It very often hap- 
pens that a feeling of jealousy lasts throughout a life- 
time just because of some trivial and accidental event 
at first, the disposition growing intensified as time 
goes on. Husbands are known who cannot bear to 
have their wives out of their sight for long, and many 
men there are who dislike balls, parties, and theatres 



298 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

simply because someone present may make them- 
selves agreeable to their wives. Some develop the 
disposition to such an extent that only Eastern veils 
would seem likely to be of any assistance or safe- 
guard. 

Thus there does not at first sight appear to be a 
very great difference between mere innocence operat- 
in.g, as a cause of jealousy arising in the other, and 
ignorance. And it must be carefully noted that in the 
former case steps may be taken, or a certain line of 
conduct pursued, without design or thought, which 
will create jealousy in the other, while in the latter 
case certain lines of action, may be chosen, which may 
be known to be questionable but which are not de- 
liberately selected for a wrong purpose ; a wife may 
even know that a certain procedure was wrong, as her 
sisters might argue, but she may at the same time 
imagine that her husband may not think so — and in- 
deed, she may not herself have intended it to evolve 
to the same lengths that others might imagine to be 
dangerous. 

After all, common sense on both sides is the great 
preventive of jealousy. A steady calculation of the 
probable eflfects of certain conduct will lead to wise 
precaution and safe procedure. A nipping in the bud 
of little indiscretions will perhaps save the more seri- 
ous weaknesses that would carry into the divorce 
court. 

One could scarcely help sympathizing with some 
women who develop untiring jealousy towards their 
husbands, because a man's conduct is so difficult — 
generally quite impossible — to follow constantly. A 
man may be able to gain mlormation concerning the 
ways of going on of his wife fairly well, for her op- 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 299 

portunities are limited in various directions; but a 
woman may be daily deceived, and forever remain 
ignorant of repeated offences on the part of her hus- 
band. As a consequence of the poor chance a woman 
has of knowing all about her husband, she may often 
develop a jealousy that is more or less unfounded. 
This may first spring into existence on account of 
some very slight indiscretion which has come to her 
ears ; then an ever-present and growing suspicioni will 
keep it up, although the man may be all the time con- 
ducting himself quite correctly. Once proved always 
suspected, is an aphorism that may fairly well be 
applied to any conduct that creates jealousy. After 
one clear offence, scarcely any excuse for unusual ab- 
sence or lateness is thoroughly believed in. 

The case of a business man is remembered, who 
had his office some distance away from the house. 
His wife knew little of the nature and management 
of his concern!. He had to interview a goo'd many 
lady customers during the day, and also to drive 
about a great deal. Now and again his wife would 
express a wish to drive out with him. Thus they 
frequently went out together, until she noticed how 
pleasantly he always smiled and bowed to many ladies 
he met. She could not understand all this in a man 
who so often growled because his gloves were not to 
be found, or scowled when his opinions differed from 
hers ; she thought the man must care much less for her 
than he did for most of the other women he met, and 
consequently jealousy arose. This feeling, only 
slight at first, led to further domestic tension and trou- 
ble, and the bowing and scraping always kept going 
on outside to intensify it. It was a fact well-known 
to others that the man was quite faithful to his wife, 



300 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

and that all his attentions towards other women were 
merely ended with the harmless salutations he treated 
them to. Yet this wife ultimately became so exas- 
perated that she would insist on driving out with her 
husband as often as she could, in order to put on a 
cross look for any females who noticed him. And 
she even went further, later on ; in order to spite him, 
and annoy him, she would dress in the shabbiest man- 
ner possible, to let others know that he was a man 
whom she cared very little for, though she was obliged 
to own him. At length they both grew to detest one 
another. 

The reader will of course remark what a stupid and 
ignorant woman this wife must have been. So she 
was ; the example is given merely in order to show 
how jealousy may arise, how unfounded it often may 
be, and what it sometimes leads to. 

Even clergymen's wives may develop strong feel- 
ings of jealousy on account of their husband's polite- 
ness and regard for certain church workers. 

The third form of jealousy yet to notice is the in- 
sane one. There is really very little difference be- 
tween this form and the last ; in fact, the two kinds 
often merge insensibly into one another. Insane jeal- 
ousy is shown by a wife or husband who may have 
originally had grounds for it, or not, but who is not 
altogether perfect in mental balance. Perhaps a man 
or woman will have insanity in the family, and will 
only require something very troubling and disturbing 
to brin.g it about; this something may happen to be 
simple jealousy. 

The victim of insane jealousy will proceed to any 
lengths, as may be imagined, according to the depth 
of the insanity. The present writer was once called 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 301 

in to advise in a case where a husband accused his 
wife of frequent misconduct with another man, and 
an. urgent message was sent, on this particular occa- 
sion, because the husband said he had heard a man 
in the house, and he wanted the proof of a medical 
man there and then that adulterous communciation 
had taken place. The wife explained that the men- 
tal condition of her husband had been gradually show- 
ing signs of strangeness of late, and that his ideas 
concerning another man had become more and more 
fixed. Upon interrogation it was soon observed that 
the man was not quite right in his mind, yet, to make 
assurance doubly sure, and to satisfy all parties on 
the woman's own. entreaty an investigation was made, 
sufficient to show that the accusation was groundless. 
The man had to be removed to an asylum the next 
day, still protesting in his belief, and threatening to 
take his wife's life. 

The following is an interesting example of insane 
jealousy: — 

"Some years ago I was requested to visit a lady 
who it was represented to me was very ill, and who 
consequently required immediate attention. On en- 
tering the house I was shown into the so-called sick- 
room, in which there were three persons, all of whom 
seemed to me to be in good health. There were pres- 
ent an old lady (the owner of the house) and her 
daughter, who had arrived a few 'days previously from 
a neighboring county to spend two or three weeks 
with her mother, and the daughter's husband, whose 
visit was only to be for a day or two. The man was 
about thirty-five years of age, small in stature, 
swarthy in complexion, and plain-looking. The wife 
was a striking contrast to her husband ; she was rather 



302 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

tall, remarkably fair and handsome, and was a few 
years younger than her good man. After taking a 
seat I asked which of them was the patient, but no 
answer having been given to my inquiry I asked 
again. Then the younger lady, with some hesitation, 
said: "I am the patient, and my complaint is jealousy. 
I am jealous of my husband, and if you do not give 
me something to relieve me I shall go out of my 
mind." This accusation against the little man 
seemed to me to be most ridiculous ; indeed, I could 
not help thinking that if the accuser had been the 
accused it would have been more in the nature of 
things. I assured the lady I was extremely sorry for 
her, the more so that I was quite incompetent to treat 
such a case. However, I advised that a wise mutual 
friend should be consulted who would make things 
pleasant between husband anjd wife, for that in all 
probability there were no grounds for her suspicions. 
The husband protested his innocence and declared 
there was no cause whatever for her accusations. 
The wife persisted in reiterating them, and so the 
wrangle went on till suddenly she fell from her chair 
on the floor in a fit of spasmodic movements which 
were so strange and varied that it would be almost 
impossible to describe them. At one moment the 
patient was extended at full length with her body 
arched forwards in a state of opisthotonos. The next 
minute she was in a sitting position with the legs 
drawn up, making, while her hands clutched her 
throat, a guttural noise. Then she would throw her- 
self on her back and thrust her arms and legs about 
to the no small danger of those around her. Then 
becoming comparatively quiet and supine, she would 
quiver all over, while her eyelids trembled with great 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 303 

rapidity. This state perhaps would be followed by 
general convulsive movements, in which she would 
put herself into the most grotesque postures and make 
the most unlovely grimaces. At last the fit ended, 
and exhausted and in tears she was put to bed. The 
patient was a lithe, muscular woman, and to restrain 
her movements during the attack with the assistance 
at hand was a matter of impossibility, so all that could 
be done was to prevent her injuring herself and to 
sprinkle her freely with cold water. The after-treat- 
ment was more geographical than medical. The hus- 
band ceased doing business in a certain town where 
the object of his wife's suspicions lived. He was en- 
abled to do so by the kindness of a friend who ex- 
changed part of his district with him." 

Concealed form of jealousy may be merely men- 
tioned, as being not quite so common as those al- 
ready referred to, but perhaps of some interest. In 
this case a husband or wife will be jealous, on account 
of certain conduct he or she has observed to be oft- 
repeated and even habitual, and it will be distinctly 
stated to others that they are not in. the least so. The 
attitude they thus adopt is one begotten either of 
necessity or of simple wisdom. Either the jealous one 
knows that it is no use showing jealousy, because 
this would only lead to further trouble, and perhaps 
a separation, which would mean a worse and more 
wretched life than ever, or he or she thinks that the 
best thing to do under the circumstances is to say 
nothing and bear it, for the sake of the children. 
Some might be inclined to argue that such a disposi- 
tion as this is not jealousy, that jealousy must show 
itself somehow : there are instances, however, to prove 
the contrary. Some there are who become consumed 



304 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

with jealousy, but only show it when the sitting or 
bedroom door is closed at home. The writer has 
known instances of supreme indifference being shown 
in the drawing-room or at a dance, expressions of the 
loftiest regardlessness being uttered in the face of 
flagrant flirtation — though the high words have followed 
when the carriage door has been fastened for the journey 
home. 

Concealment of jealousy is not only adopted in the 
presence of outsiders, it is also practised between hus- 
band and wife. It is comparatively common for the 
one to chaff the other, after some reception, theatre, 
or dance, where a good deal of mixed pleasantry, flat- 
tery, and perhaps even flirtation, has been going on, 
and avow that they *'do not mind in the least/' while 
all the time they will indicate in other ways that jeal- 
ousy is present. 

Jealousy is the least likely to arise when a cou- 
ple have thoroughly understood one another 
both before and after marriage. If one or the 
other, or both, have made a clean breast of their ten- 
dencies and dispositions, and have confessed to all 
past proclivities and propensities, all instances of 
former flirtations being discussed so that a deep un- 
derstanding arises between the two, then future ac- 
tions or suggestions will be the easier interpreted, and 
possibilities guarded against — provided such free con- 
fessions have not led to a breaking-off of the engage- 
ment altogether. A frankness of admission before 
marriage, however trifling the flirtation may have 
been, is generally a sound indication that equal open- 
ness will be preserved in future. Those little atten- 
tions to others after marriage, which might be mis- 
interpreted in the case of a couple who only partly 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 305 

understood one another, will be clear as noonday to 
those of frank intent from the first. The happiest 
are those who feel certain how far their partners will 
go with others. Jealousy will usually be found 
among those who have ''married in haste/' for they 
have not had time or opportunity, or perhaps incli- 
nation, to realy find one another out. 

Let me give an instance of jealousy arising which 
illustrates almost all the various forms, and which 
provided an irritating study for those who were wit- 
nesses — irritating because of the wicked success at- 
tained by one of the parties. An artist's wife was so 
bold and comely as to win the attentions of many men 
who often appeared to her to be more interesting for 
the moment than her own husband. The latter grew 
jealous, and soon an unpleasant tension strained their 
relationship, leading to fewer and less amiable words 
between the two. Happy enough in her gay sur- 
roundings, so often away from home, the wife flour- 
ished, growing a contempt for her miserable man at 
home, who was fast developing a sick and sorry ap- 
pearance that indicated the keenness with which he 
realized certain "goings on.'' Life came to be hardly 
worth living for him. She was beginning to invite 
men to the house, remarking: *'Never mind, George; 
he is not well." The poor husband was often enough 
put off with the explanation that "he only came to see 
about my sister's reversionary interests — he is a fam- 
ily lawyer"; another was a partner in the firm of 
solicitors, and so on. But he broke down altogether 
one morning when among his letters he read the 
opening sentences of one which had been sent to his 
wife — (the Mrs. had been carelessly written). He 



3o6 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

was immediately seized with a mild fit of apoplexy at 
the breakfast table. 

Soon the wife adjusted arrangements to meet the 
situation, and convinced certain legal gentlemen — real 
lawyers this time — that her husband was no longer fit 
to transact any business. Medical men came in also, 
and the miserable patient now possessed no voice of 
any infiuence. He was a mere laughing stock to the 
wicked, and a cypher in the professional and business 
reckoning. Hold of the money-bags, my lady danced 
to very gay tunes, what time the dejected and chronic 
patient was left to look after things at home. He was 
not allowed a voice in anything; he was not even 
permitted to handle his own private income ; he was 
classed as out of his mind all the time, and told so 
pretty frequently. 

Now, the wife one day realizing that she might soon 
be in a position to marry again, began to mend her 
ways. She would .give no grounds for any suspicion 
as to her conduct. She liked certain acquaintances, 
but would be careful in future to keep them at a dis- 
tance. Her husband, carrying in recollection the in- 
cidents which led up to his reading a letter and falling 
back in a swoon, and now perceiving in his returning 
senses that she had gained a serious ascendancy, re- 
signed himself to his fate. 'Til control myself for 
the children's sake, and prevent her from becoming so 
impatient as to wish to do me harm — by poison, it 
might be " 

At length he recovered sufficient intelligence to pull 
himself together and tackle the situation. *'You dare 
to accuse me of anything!" his wife replied. 'Til 
have you certified as a lunatic in very quick time; 
there is enough evidence to put you in an asylum. 



JEALOUSY IN MARRIED LIFE 307 

Look to it! You have been out of your mind once^ 
and may go again any time. Anything you say now 
will be discounted. Nobody will believe you." The 
wretched man lived through years of much evil in- 
tent and doing. 

Now, how many of us may look to our own in- 
stances, and breathe our affectionate expressions of 
thankfulness that we are not as some are ! What mis- 
ery there is in married life that turns out to be unsat- 
isfactory ! Yet this misery is the exception ; there is 
such simple and earnest contentment entering the 
average home-life as makes dallying with the whims 
and enticements of others mere waste of time. 

"Love is strong as death; 
Jealousy is cruel as the grave." 

—SOLOMON. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

UNFAITHFULNESS 

Remembering that marriage, at the same time that 
it is a sacred tie, should act as one of the most power- 
ful restraints that one could imagine, limiting inor- 
dinate tendencies of both male and female, keeping 
passions and sexual excitements down to a moderate, 
reasonable, harmless degree, the reader will at once 
understand that not only does unfaithfulness break 
divine and salutary bonds, it places the subject in a 
worse position than he or she would have been had 
they never entered into the Holy state. There are 
limitations to the waywardness or irregularities of 
those who remain single, which do actually control, 
it is true ; marriage does not provide the only hope 
of salvation from sexual misfortune or excess ; but to 
marry and thow off the protective armor thus won, 
yielding to the enticements of mischievous or promis- 
cuous opportunity, is to learn a good and safe thing 
and to rashly push it aside when it is just working its 
best. Those who cannot remain faithful had infinite- 
ly better remain single; this almost goes without say- 
ing. 

There are so many classes, nationalities, and diflfer- 
ent habits and customs among humanity, that it is 
not easy to deal with such an important subject as 
irregularities or breaches committed during married 
existence in just a few pages. 

308 



UNFAITHFULNESS 309 

Faithfulness in this country implies constant adher- 
ence to one object of affection. Some peoples of 
other nationality cannot know what sexual faithful- 
ness is as it is understood by most of us. Those East- 
ern potentates who number their female associates 
sometimes by the hundred, have no conception of the 
one-man-one-wife principle; this monogamous exist- 
ence of their cooler representatives of Western climes 
is incomprehensible to them. It is generally under- 
stood that every marriage ceremony is in itself an ex- 
pression or avowal of intended constancy or faith — 
that it is in every instance complete and similar — yet 
Eastern males, who can afford to have harems, have 
greater faith in some of the women than in others. 
It is sufficient, however, for us to take the meaning 
of faithfulness as we understand it at home, and no 
more contrasts with foreign habits need be studied 
than will help in a fair consideration of our own ways 
of going on. 

Different classes of more civilized society have 
very similar ideas as to specific sexual association with 
someone else besides the one lawfully wedded, up to 
a certain point ; they all know that such an act is one 
of unfaithfulness; but where they chiefly differ is in 
preliminaries, and after all, it must be always through 
preliminaries of some nature or other that any sexual 
relationships occur. Therefore, in considering the 
whole question, it is quite clear that the common 
habits and tendencies of distinctive classes have every- 
thing to do with definite acts of unfaithfulness, inas- 
much as certain sets of circumstances and certain 
opportunities or provocations will lead to certain re- 
sults in certain classes. Hence it will be seen that 
those preliminaries or suggestions which would be 



310 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

considered indicative of ensuing unfaithfulness in one 
class of people may be entirely disregarded as fac- 
tors in. another. The subject of unfaithfulness, as be- 
tween husband and wife, cannot be fully dealt with, 
as regards cause and effect, without a study being 
made of the ideas and customs of different classes. 

We have to note this point, also, that though there 
may be no difference of opinion as to what may con^ 
stitute unfaithfulness as between a certain man and a 
certain woman — each may know well enough what 
it is — yet the man may very frequently act in a man- 
ner highly conducive to, and even suggestive of, 
either prospective or habitual unfaithfulness, accord- 
ing to the ideas of his wife — or a woman may con- 
duct herself in such a manner before her husband, as 
the case may be — according to the particular mental 
conception or suspicion of either, when neither he nor 
she are really guilty. Conduct which a man may 
think to be proper, or which may be looked upon as a 
circumstance having no infamous import, a woman 
may consider clearly indicates unfaithfulness. And 
the difficulties of giving proof are very great, as the 
records of divorce courts will frequently show. A 
woman once accused her husband of unfaithfulness, 
and took steps towards obtaining a divorce. Sepa- 
rate rooms of the house were at once occupied, and 
events awaited. All the wife could say regarding the 
acts of unfaithfulness was this, that her husband vis- 
ited his pupils' studio at all hours, and was sometimes 
seen walking with them. But the husband merely 
answered that his pupils were devoted to him as their 
master, and that he thought there was nothing wrong 
in what he did. 

Unfaithfulness must therefore be proved before it 



UNFAITHFULNESS 311 

can be made the subject of a charge. It follows from 
this that many offences will be committed and no one 
on this earth will know about them excepting those 
immediately concerned; in other words, unfaithful- 
ness will be oftener suspected than actually found out. 

The extraordinary manner in which unfaithfulness 
may be carried on by some, while pretended faithful- 
ness is paraded, only leads one to marvel at the in- 
genuity and craft of many people who happen to be 
discontentedly married. How some men and women 
are able to lead their partners, to whom they have 
been married, to believe that they are quite faithful, 
while they are holding habitual relationship with an- 
other, or others, has been amply shown in many 
police-court unravelments of mysteries and crimes. 

The firmness with which all-round faithfulness can 
form and maintain general character, the training it 
is capable of giving in simple self-denial, the self- 
satisfaction and contentment which it can engender 
in a mind, all render a quality that may never be set 
down as very highly creditable among the most civ- 
ilized, but may always be described as something 
beautiful, powerful, and magnificently exemplary. 
What attribute can be more admirable than constant 
faithfulness and trust between husband and wife? It 
argues so many other firm qualities in association. 

As to force of example, it is quite astonishing how 
much children observe. Mothers- — and fathers as well 
— should ever bear in mind that certain acts, gestures, 
or remarks may not be understood by very young chil- 
dren immediately they are seen or heard, but they 
may be remembered and fully interpreted later on in 
life. A child of three may not understand everything 
it sees, but it will carry the vision in its eyes, and 



312 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

extract some kind of meaning out of it at six and 
draw every conclusion about it at thirteen ; and, there- 
fore, whatever mother or father used to say or do 
can scarcely be considered to be so very wrong in the 
eyes of their grown-up child. Things done covertly 
or quietly are often the more searched out by chil- 
dren, and later on in life studied and imitated. 

Not only has example great power over children, 
but over everyone. The poorer classes often express 
the opinion that the greatest amount of immorality 
and unfaithfulness goes on among the upper classes. 
This idea of theirs may or may not be a correct one. 
The people take a good deal of interest in such col- 
umns as are headed, ''A Duke in the Divorce Court," 
or *'A Sensational Society Scandal,'' and they draw 
their own conclusions. Thus are examples taken by 
one class from another. 

Let us turn our attention, for a moment to some of 
the causes of unfaithfulness. A very definite ac- 
quaintance with sexual matters before marriage may 
give tendencies and indicate opportunities for irregu- 
lar intercourse after marriage which those who had 
previously remained quite pure might not exhibit or 
even, dream of. Again, certain comparisons are some- 
times likely to create dangerous discontent, and they 
are all the more likely to be drawn if irregular sexual 
acquaintance has been previously extensive. Yet, on 
the contrary, instances have been known of men who 
have remained perfectly pure before marriage develop- 
ing into the most reckless and unreasonable de- 
bauchees and roues afterwards. This seems somewhat 
singular, but it may be explained by the fact that a 
simple unacquaintance has never led the individual 
very far wrong in any respect before marriage, but 



UNFAITHFULNESS 313 

that a little knowledge has soon afterwards proved a 
dangerous thing. Such cases have led thinking peo- 
ple to remark that it is well to sow a few wild oats 
before marriage, seeing, that innocence may some- 
times run dangerously riot once it should become 
abruptly and fully acquainted. 

A good deal depends on natural disposition. Some 
temperaments are more prone to sexual sensations 
than others, and will not be satisfied and kept down 
by the limitations of matrimony, having poor self- 
denying and governing powers. There are some dis- 
positions that will not be ruled by anything or any- 
body; such as these will not be likely to keep to a 
marriage vow should anything arise to disturb the 
evenness of association with their wedded partners. 

The sounder the love and affection existing between 
man and wife, the firmer will their faithfulness be, of 
course. But one must not forget that there are some 
surprising cases of apparently real and deep aflfection 
in which unfaithfulness is to be found. A separated 
wife was once asked by the writer, for curiosity's sake, 
how she got on with her husband before she found 
out his goings-on with another woman, and her reply 
was : "Perfectly, in every respect ; a better husband he 
could not have been for many years; we were abso- 
lutely happy so far I could see. I offered to forgive 
him, and to try and go on as usual, sooner than break 
up the home; but he said he could never comfortably 
face me again, now that the 'other one' had been 
found out." For years this unfaithfulness towards 
his wife had been going on, but no conduct on the 
husband's part ever betrayed it. One may well ask, 
after such a case, how is one to know who is faithful 
and who is not? 



314 THE, WIFE: HER BOOK 

It is a decree of Nature that man's passion shall be 
more demonstrative, more violent and active, than 
woman's. We can also trace this through the animal 
kingdom very well. The male is the wooer and pur- 
suer; he will go through fire and water, and make 
a trifle of great distances, in order to gain his desired 
end, while the female will remain comparatively pas- 
sive, to be wooed and won ; she will either consent or 
oppose, and will be very capable of running away and 
protecting herself if she think she will ; only very ex- 
ceptionally does she take the initiative, or pursue as a 
male does, not being disposed to, not being consti- 
tuted for it. Therefore, the majority of acts of un- 
faithfulness will be found to be committed by men. 
Women are bad enough, it is true ; even they them- 
selves will admit this ; but their disposition is not so 
sexually keen and disposed to waywardness; though 
there are, of course, exceptions. 

After all, one of the greatest incentives to unfaith- 
fulness is opportunity. Men have better opportuni- 
ties than women. This fact requires no enlarging 
upon ; it is quite well known. Differences in habit 
and mode of life, in occupation and in the spending 
of leisure time, give the two sexes quite different ad- 
vantages, "whether for virtue or mischief.'' 

But when the understanding of one another before 
marriage has been deep, and the love therefore quite 
unquestionable, the married existence is all the more 
likely to be satisfying, the couple being sufficient unto 
themselves. For causes of unfaithfulness you require 
to look far back in the history of the individuals ; you 
will be sure to find some instances of disparity or in- 
compatibility, between any two you study, that had 
better been discovered before marriage. Still, coun- 



UNFAITHFULNESS 315 

sels of perfection are of little use after a marriage 
has been contracted in almost instant haste. While 
intelligence is so often wanting during the engage- 
ment period, it would be hopeless to expect constancy 
and faithfulness after marriage in all instances. 

Selfishness is at the root of most instances of un- 
faithfulness. If the delinquent had thought for a mo- 
ment what would be the effect or injury upon his 
partner, he would have hesitated before committing 
himself. Honesty of partnership, even if not that 
simple yet unfailingly protective influence of never- 
wavering love, should actuate the real man and the 
genuine woman; and if not innate, then it should be 
adopted as the wisest policy. 

This chapter and the last have been written, not for 
those who have read books of all kinds deeply — in- 
cluding novels — who know humanity right through; 
who understand the weaknesses, foibles, and idiosyn- 
crasies of most of its members; who have even wit- 
nessed many examples of disordered states of living; 
it is rather the newly-onarried and the more unac- 
quainted that have been specially appealed to — those 
likely to sigh and cry, after the trouble has come upon 
them — that they had no idea such simple actions 
would create so many disagreeable turn.s of events. 

"Alas! how light a cause may move 
Dissension between hearts that love! 
Hearts that the world in vain had tried!" 

—MOORE. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE 

Careless wives should be made to recollect that 
they once had a charm which won their life's lover. 
The beauty book says : ''First catch your man ; then 
learn how to keep him/' Husbands have a right to 
admire other women, to a certain, extent ; good hus- 
bands cannot help it ; it is their nature to ; they would 
not be sensible men if they did not see certain beauty 
in some women, just as they may recognize that a 
champion animal may beat their own in points. What 
a wife should do, is to make her husband feel that 
though other women can be more beautiful, he would 
rather have what he has got, for many reasons. 

What a man really cannot maintain an abiding full 
regard for, is a wife who does not do her best. If 
she should argue within herself that she has now got 
him securely, and that it does not matter how she 
may appear before either him or anyone else in future, 
she may have a rude awakening one day, when she 
accompanies him for a walk, and hears him remark: 
'*I like that ; it is so becoming — to a decidedly pretty 
blonde !" as they pass other people. 

It is quite true there are some husbands hardly 
worth dressing for — they hardly know a toque from 
a straw hat — nor care — until their wives begin to 
remark the smartness of some other men. 

It is all very well for the fair reader to argue that 

316 



THE WIFE: HER BOOK 317 

appearance counts for nothing after marriage, that 
deep personal qualities will do all real winning and 
sustaining afterwards ; we shall be obliged, notwith- 
standing, to begin our study of the philosophy of the 
subject by digesting the law that everybody — married 
or single, young or old — should take some amount of 
pride in their personal appearance — so far as their 
means will allow them, and with due regard to pro- 
portionate expense. 

The rude truth is, that carelessness, of whatever 
kind, usually indicates unhappiness in some degree, 
while that of personal appearance may even indicate 
so much as mental deficiency. People of unsound 
mind early become indiflferent as regards dress; and 
the sign is all the more indicative if it accompany un- 
cleanliness. 

If a wife neglect herself she will be likely to pay 
little regard for her poor children. If she be negli- 
gent in one way she will likely be so in others ; her 
house will not be kept in good order, nor will her 
meal table. 

This is so commonplace and well known that I will 
pass hurriedly on to refer to manners, carriage, and 
deportment. Both should be as polished and cultured 
in these respects five years after marriage as they 
had been immediately before — unless, perchance, they 
had been disgracefully artificial at one time, and had 
at length found it too hard to keep this going. 

'Tirst-sight" may suffice before marriage, but all 
the shortcomings will be taken stock of afterwards. 
Many a man has married beneath him, but has only 
found this out when the carelessness has begun. And 
not only is beauty to be found in a face ; it may be 
first seen in a face, and guessed in the form. A plain 



3i8 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

face can become fascinating after a time — when other 
more lasting qualities are realized. There is abiding 
beauty in the mind. There can be a personal charm 
quite independent of appearance ; for blind people can 
love very deeply and sincerely. 

It is not so much that appearance alone compels, 
but that it affords so many indications of quality and 
character. A man may love his wife; and if so, she 
should take care that she pleases him in appearance. 
He may not mind so much whether she is beautiful 
before him, but rather whether she is appreciated by 
others. "Dress decently, for goodness' sake, or what 
will people think of you,'' is a remark I once heard a 
despairing husband make to his indifferent wife. She 
had developed the strange idea that one need never 
study appearance, for this were vain and not good in 
the sight of God. 

Women are naturally artistic, and they should culti- 
vate a taste for art when considering their husband 
and their children. It is healthy and pleasant so to 
do. And if a nice appearance can be kept up on little 
expenditure the triumph will be all the more gratify- 
ing. It is not always money that makes a person 
comely in appearance. Men rarely pick a woman's 
clothing to pieces ; they take in the broad effect — like 
or dislike — and could not tell you the material or the 
cost for worlds — that is the average man ! 

Do not always accept the word of a woman in ask- 
ing an opinion as to what your appearance may be — 
whether as regards dress or features. Take her an- 
swer with a pinch of salt. Find out the truth as best 
you can — and if you are in the way of asking a man's 
opinion so much the better for you. Some women are 
sincere, but so many are jealous. 



ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE 319 

Please do not imagine that because your dress is 
long you need think little of your feet. Comfortable 
and well-shod feet may have a nice appearance, but 
they will also enable you to carry yourself sweetly 
and gracefully as an angel. Badly-fitting boots pro- 
duce corns. Improper boots are largely responsible for 
chilblains and bunions. Nay, more, boots may often 
go so far as to damage the health and distort the 
features, through the constant agony they produce; 
and feet are difficult to fit by *'ready-mades'' when 
cheap ones have distorted them already. I have seen 
cases of loss of flesh, nervousness, and general ill- 
health caused by pain in the feet only — constant agony 
being experienced in getting about. 

Nor do I counsel you to seek your only salvation at 
the sign of the beauty doctor, who paints and powders 
you, perhaps smiling when you have gone. Go, by 
all means, if it will help you, but not expecting that 
it will completely hide you. Be sure there is not too 
much touching-up, and look many times in the glass 
in a true light before you go into the street. Above 
all, tell your husband what you are doing, to save him 
the trouble and vexation of finding out. Take his 
advice about the tint and thickness you put on — if 
he approves at all. 

It would be impossible to do justice to such a sub- 
ject as the maintenance of a good complexion in a 
short chapter; but I may oflFer some principles which 
the reader will find sound and useful to commence her 
study with. In the first place, practically all skin 
affections proceed from disorder within the body, and 
the majority of disorders within are caused by either 
improper food or imperfect digestion. It follows that 
the general health should be improved, as a first meas- 



320 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

ure, by those whose complexions are not satisfactory; 
and a suitable dietary will help very considerably — a 
plain mixed one will suit most people, including fruit, 
vegetables, and cereals, with only a limited amount 
of butcher's meat. No soups, highly seasoned, no 
made or bottled sauces, no meat extract gravies. As 
much fruit and vegetables should be taken as will en- 
sure regularity of the bowels. And, remember, no 
two cases are quite alike. 

Hairs on the face, which are so unsightly and un- 
feminine are best removed by means of electrolysis. 
Certain spots and blotches, due to enlarged blood- 
vessels, may also be eradicated by the same process. 
I cannot, however, recommend the practice more re- 
cently suggested and cultivated, of coloring the 
cheeks by means of an electric needle injecting under 
the skin. There are dangers attending this proced- 
ure. Many operations can be performed, however, and 
most successfully, for deformities of the nose, ear, 
mouth and eye. 

If pustules, acne, or matter spots should break out, 
then perseverance with a prescribed dietary will soon 
decidedly improve, and ultimately cure ; but it will 
take time. For red spots and areas, where there is 
no matter or moisture, use oxide of zinc and starch 
powder, one part of the former with two of the latter, 
applying it at bed-time. For dryness of either hands 
or face, a very thin application of glycerine and water 
mixed in equal quantities will soften the surface. 
These are the simplest of household remedies. No 
two people will be alike, and there are special treat- 
ments for all particular cases which could not possibly 
be ev^n touched upon here, as well as special medi- 



ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE 321 

cine to be taken to help matters internally, according 
to variations of sign and symptom. 

Drops to bring lustre to the eyes should never be 
used, excepting by desperate actresses, who may be 
determined to make a show to-day, even if certain to 
appear off-color to-morrow. 

"What outward form and feature are 
He guesseth but in part; 
But what within is good and fair 
He seeth with the heart." 

—COLERIDGE. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 

We have touched upon the subject of health and fit- 
ness for the function of child-birth, but the relation- 
ship which subsists between health and simple hap- 
piness — how much the one influences the other, and 
how much both aflfect a married existence — is certain- 
ly worth some consideration before we close. Noth- 
ing begets happiness so surely as health, and conr- 
versely, no condition conduces to misery so much as 
ill-health. We may safely argue that the happiness 
of married life will very largely depend on health. 

And what lover knows the state of health of the 
loved one, until the pair are married? Certainly most 
betrothed couples know little or nothing about one 
another's physical or physiological conditions. It is 
during the honeymoon that they may first find out 
their afflictions. And there is no going back then ; 
it is for ^'better or worse'' ; if the health of either one 
or the other be unsound, then, it is extremely likely 
that some amount of dissatisfaction and discontent 
will be manifested in the future. It is true you may 
continue to love the sickly, but you had far better 
commence with the strong. Some might argue that 
the sickly should be all the more loved and tended ; 
perhaps they should, but the general and total hap- 
piness of a couple will certainly be marred in some 
degree by ill-health in one or both, while, as we have 

322 



THE WIFE: HER BOOK 323 

already seen, even the expense of illness may also be 
calculated to enhance the misery of it. 

But if health makes happiness, so also does happi- 
ness help to keep up good health. It only helps, of 
course ; and it does so in this way : good spirits, as we 
might popularly express happiness, tend to keep all 
the functions and forces of the body in good order; 
they promote sound digestion, for instance. If a per- 
son suffer from depressed spirits or worry, then the 
digestion will at once be markedly influenced; as an 
immediate result the general health will suffer in very 
many ways. 

In order to illustrate the effects of ill-health on mar- 
ried existence, let us picture for a moment a good- 
looking girl, with all the charms that fascinate a most 
desirable suitor — excepting good health — a matter 
which, however, her lover has not seemed inclined 
to regard in the least. She may be good-looking part- 
ly because she is delicate; for many who have even a 
consumptive tendency have beautiful complexions, 
and fine features. The date of her marriage is fixed, 
and she makes all her plans accordingly, purchasing 
and collecting together her trousseaiL But as the time 
is drawing nigh she worries a good deal, because she 
does not feel in a robust state of health, and because 
nothing seeems to ''go right"; colors appear disap- 
pointing after purchase, while fashions change so 
much that a good deal of sending back and altering 
goes on before the wedding takes place. 

Her lover now sees that her spirits are sometimes 
rather depressed; but he thinks this will all come 
right in the end. They get married. She goes through 
the ordeal very well, considering all things, but the 
train journey afterwards is found very tiring, and on 



324 THE WIFE: HER BOOK 

settling down, at an hotel she feels quite "done up'' 
and has no appetite for anything. The first, second, 
and third day are passed, and still she does not feel 
particularly bright, nor does her husband now, for 
he is beginning to worry also — about her. On the fifth 
day he becomes more anxious still, and insists on call- 
ing in a doctor. 

These two get through their honeymoon somehow, 
and proceed home. The old story is repeated over, 
and over again — never well, never really well. What 
might have been the happiest existence therefore 
promises to be marred forever. Ill-health may be 
only temporary or it may be permanent. Either may 
bring most unfortunate results. Even if only tem- 
porary, a bad beginning may mean misery for life ; it 
may create such early discontent and impatience as 
will lead to change of opinion — and even of love later 
on. 

And if health makes happiness and happiness 
health, what about the living and quickening product 
of the marriage union? What about children? It 
goes without saying that the healthy and happy will 
be more likely to bear creditable children than the 
sickly and miserable. We have seen that the condi- 
tion of mind and body of parents exercises a remark- 
ably powerful influence for good or evil over their 
offspring when still unborn — to be demonstrated so 
clearly when born, and after developing a little. 

There is much wisdom displayed by certain Ameri- 
can philosophers, who believe that all persons who 
wish to marry should be subject to medical examina- 
tion, in order to make certain that they are likely to 
bring forth healthy and creditable children. They 
further recommend that in the event of couples being 



HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 325 

found quite healthy an addition to their marriage li- 
cense should be made somewhat as follows — without 
which marriage should be unlawful : — 

**A medical board, having examined M. and N. and 
inquired into their family history, expresses the opin- 
ion that there is no cause or just impediment of a 
pathological, physiological, or anatomical nature why 
these persons should not be joined together in Holy 
or otherwise legal matrimony." 

The more we consider the question of happiness and 
marriage, the more shall we see that a satisfactory 
existence does not depend altogether on looks, on 
money, on a double-fronted house with garden, or 
even altogether on children — but very much on health. 
All the money in the world will not bring happiness 
back when disappointment and weariness, created by 
chronic complaint, have at length eaten their malig- 
nant and persistent way through the heart and vitals. 
One may be attended by no end of doctors and nurses, 
it is true, but the unhappiness of ill-health would 
never be compensated for by any riches. A laborer 
and his wife are happier if th^y have the best of 
health, and are otherwise suitable to one another, than 
any prince and princess who have a defective con- 
stitution between them. An individual may have 
great mental gifts, a good deal of gold, and good 
looks, but health will more likely create contentment, 
a happy appreciation of most things, and a smiling 
face. 

"Have you not then, for pains and fears, 
For days of woe, and watchful nights. 
For all your sorrow, all your tears, 
An over-payment of delights?" 

— SOUTHBY. 
THE END. 



INDEX 



Abdomen: effect of tight-lacing, 19; 
or "stomach," 45 ; deepened color 
of, 61; movement of foetus, 64; 
position of, 67; of animals, 6, 21, 
100, loi, 102; lessening size of, 
69, 109; prominence of, 86; pres- 
sure on, 99; pain or distress in, 
152, 228; binder for, 179; after 
confinement, 209 

Abdomen: walls of, first pregnancy, 
53; muscles giving away, 55; 
feeling foetus through, 64; flab- 
biness of, 86; rupture of, 102, 
103; in animals, 105 

Abdominal belts: 99, 161, 179; and 
pelvic pressures, 53, 54, 86, 89, 
106; muscles paralyzed, 145; tu- 
mors, 57, 65, 66, 67, 125 

Abortion: 83, ii4» 116, 119 to 
125, 290; penalty for procuring, 
122; danger of criminal, 120, 121 

Abnormal births the exception: 2, 
8, 59, 78, 99; their cause, 12, 13, 
18, 46; conditions during preg- 
nancy, 85, 91, 69, 132, 133, 2^2 

Abnormalities: 200; five at a birth, 

195 

Abscess of the breast: 217, 218, 
220, 223, 224, 254; symptoms of, 
224; lancing, 224; threatened, 
224; in female infant, 254 

Absence of "pains" during labor, 
145, 200 

Abundant milk: too, 216 

Accidents: 86, 118, 126 

Accidental miscarriages, 117, 118 

Acne, 321 

Adoption, 2^2^ 2^2 

Advertized medicines, 124, 253, 254 

Afterbirth: 50, 51, ^2, 115, 116, 
126, 127, 129, 155, 168, 176, 177, 
179, 180, 195, 227, 229, 242; com- 
ing first, 155; emergency, first 
• aid. Placenta Praevia, 156; de- 
scription of, 176; coming away, 
177; with twins, 195 

"After pains," 204 

Ailments during pregnancy, 84 to 
100 

Alcohol as medicine: 41, 202; dan- 
ger of, 41, 42, 82, 119; abstain 
from during haemorrhage, 131 
Aloes, 221 



Alum solution, 238, 239 
Amorous hypnotism, 295 
Anaemia, 63, 119, 122, 155 
Anaesthetics: 190 to 193, 248; "The 

Practice of Midwifery" on, 191; 

after effects of, 192; See also 

Chloroform 
Anatomy of pelvis and womb, 45, 

49, 121 
Animal food, excess of: 40 
Animals: mating of, i, 12, 264, 

265, 280, 314; posture of, 6, 21, 

loi to 107; pregnancy of, 6, 13, 

84, loi, 103, 104, 105; after 

labor, 206; mammae of, 211, 212, 

220 
Antiseptic cleanliness, 188, 243; 

oil, 164 
Antiseptics: 156, 164, 180, 228, 238, 

239; non-poisonous best, 164, 238, 

239; permanganate of potash, 

164, 238; lysol, 165 
Anus, 247 
Anxiety, 214, 216 
Aperients, 97, 98 
Apoplectic seizures, 92 
Appetite: depraved, 62; loss of, 88, 

216 
Articles useful for confinement, 

158, 163 to 167 
Artificial life: dangers of, 3, 5, 14, 

42, 83, 118; feeding, 38, 213, 

2i4,_ 217, 225, 245 
Artificially produced miscarriages, 

120; only legal reason for, 123; 

their danger and frequent use- 

lessness, 121, 124 
Astringent lozenges, 89 
Avoidance of unpleasant sights, 60, 

96, 97, 118 

Baby: female, care of, 17, 254, 255; 
best and worst food for, 19, 211 
to 223; pills not good, 206; 
mother's milk, 211 to 214, 223; 
results of improper feeding, 213, 
245; breast-fed least trouble, 213, 
245; suckling, 220, 221; weaning, 
221, 222\ choice of wet nurse, 
222; parental delights, 240; first 
few hours of life, 241, 242; wash- 
ing new-born, 242, 243, 244; soap 
for, 242; care of eyes, 242; at- 



327 



INDEX 



tending to cord, 243; care of the 
navel, 243; soreness and careless 
washing, 244; treatment of sore- 
ness, 244; prepared foods, 245; 
no sign of life, 246; must breathe 
before cord is cut, 247; defor- 
mity at birth, 247 to 249; circum- 
cision explained, 247: convul- 
sions, 249, 250, 251; beware of 
twitchings about arms and legs, 
250; rickets, 16, 18, 19, 47, 251; 
none but safety-pins, 251; mus- 
tard plaster, 251; convulsions and 
the bowels, 251, 252; caution 
against quack medicines, 253, 
254; swollen breast-glands, 254; 
foolishness of rubbing down 
breasts, 255; breast abscesses, 
256; thrush, 256; cleansing of 
bottles and tubes, 256; future of, 

257 

Back: pain in, 86, 234 

Bad confinements: their cause, 14, 
16, 37, 84 

Bandages, 93, 217, 224 

Barrenness: 40, 258 to 263; fre- 
quent cause of dissension, 258; 
causes of, 280, 281; temporary 
separation as a cure, 282; volun- 
tary, 283, 284 

Bearing-down pains, 86 

Bed: how long to stay in, 132, 205 
to 210; to arrange for confine- 
ment, 160 

Bed-pan: slipper, 165, 203, 206 

Bedroom accessories, 158 

Beer, 82 

Belladonna plasters, 217, 221 

Belts: abdominal, 99, 161, 179 

Binders, 163, 179 

Birth: uncomplicated, 18; wonder- 
ful process of, 144, 168 to 172 

Birth-rate: French, 289, 290; causes 
influencing, 288 to 290 

Bismuth and soda, 256 

Bladder troubles, 54, 99 

Blood poisoning, 117, 128, 130, 229, 
243 

Blood clots, 204, 226, 230 

Blessing of children, 258 to 263 

Blows, 126 

Blue veins on breasts, 61 

Bone: importance of proper devel- 
opment, 15; deformities danger- 
ous, 15, 16, 196; effects of rickets 
on, 16 to 19, 47 

Bones: result of flattened, 47; 
bones of child's head, 148, 172, 
196 

Boots influence health, 319 

Boracic acid: 90, 99, 165, 218, 239, 
257; ointment, 243 

Borax solution, 90, 239 



Bottles: feeding, 256 

Bowels: 93, 97, 143; before ex- 
pected delivery, 152, 170 

Bow-legs: 16, 18, 47; doctor should 
be informed of, 47 

Brandy, 146; and water lotion for 
breasts, 99 

Breasts: enlargement of, 60, 99; 
nipples, 57, 60, 99, 215, 217, 218; 
tenderness and fullness, 60; 
shooting pains in, 60; care of, 99, 
217, 218, 219; support of, 112; 
stimulants, 202; of mammals, 211, 
212; -fed baby healthy, 213; feed- 
ing aids mother's recovery, 214, 
22T\ disease of, 214; sore nip- 
ples, 215, 217, 218, 219, 221; first 
milk, 215; glasses, 215, 218, 219; 
milk too abundant, 215; scanty 
milk, 215; to use, 215; to dry, 
216; abscess of, 216, 217, 219, 
222^ 223; never rub, 216, 219, 
220, 221; painful, 216, 219; 
lumps, 219, 221; corsets, 218; hot 
fomentations, 219; milk fever, 
219; weaning, 219, 220; female 
infant's, 254, 255 

Breathlessness, 89, 98 

Breech presentations, 197 

Bright's disease, 119 

Broken vein: haemorrhage from, 93 

Bromide of potassium, 252 

Bruises during labor, 145, 204 

Bulbous end syringe, 238 

Caesarean section, 46, 2%o 

Cancers, 103 

Carbolic acid, 164 

Castor oil, 206 

Caul, 169 

Cavity of the pelvis, 45, 48, 51 

Central Australian idea of concep- 
tion, 268 

Chest trouble, 123 

Child: at birth, 148, 172; length 
of, 50; weight of, 50, 142; born 
before doctor's arrival, 158; birth 
of, 168 to 182, 196 

Child-bed fever, 227, 228 

Child-bed mortality: smallness of, 
78 

Child-bearing: highest human func- 
tion, 3; the fit and the unfit, 11; 
mental requirements for, 13, 14; 
early training for, 15; excessive, 
19; development necessary, 10 to 
25; dread of, 271; desire of, 271, 
272 

Childbirth: difficulties attending, 14, 
78; specially dangerous to epilep- 
tics, 25, 92; safe for healthy 
woman, 47, 59, 84; cause of pain 
and distress at, 149; child in 



328 



INDEX 



wrong position, 197; liability to 
contagion at, 229 

Childhood: evils resulting from 
neglect in, 1 5 

Children: link between parents, 259 

Child's caul, 169 

Child's head: bones of, 148, 172, 
196 

Child's death to save mother, 188 

Child's legs coming first, 197 

Chloroform, 38, 73, 93, 173, 187, 
188, 190 to 193, 274; not always 
advisable, 190 

Chronic dyspepsias, 88 

Circumcision, 247, 248 

Civilization: and pregnancy, 84; and 
birth pains, 208 

Clean linen: plug, 156; for spong- 
ing, 165, 218 

Cleanliness: 43, 90, 229; surgical, 
164, 180 

Cleft-palate, 247, 249 

Club foot, 247, 249 

Colds, 89 

Cold water applications, 224 

Collapse, 178 

Coma, 250 

Coming down of womb, 87, . 107, 
205, 209, 234 

Common misapprehension: a, 237 

Commonsense: need for, 14, 141, 
153; principles of health, 34; and 
experience in the nurse, 141 

Complexion: secret of good, 40 

Complicated labor, 189 

Concealment: of pregnancy, no, 
174; of birth, 174, 207, 208 

Conception: 49, 63, 264 to 279; 
comparatively rare, 264, 265, 266; 
aided by previous separation, 260, 
264, 266; time for, 265; Jewish 
ceremonial and, 365; change of 
residence, 267; seaside visits, 268; 
savage beliefs,^ 268; ignorance 
about, 269; criminal attempts to 
negative, 271, 278, 290; uncer- 
tainty of, 2^6^ 2Tj\ constant as- 
sociation a bar to, 280; tempera- 
ment and, 290 

Confinement: easy, 14, 149, 150; 
why difficult, 47; usually safe, 2, 
8, 59, 99; arrangement with doc- 
tor or midwife, 74, 75, t^), 134 
to 141; first, 53, 75, 76, 150, 171, 
178, 215, 223, 228; when to ex- 
pect, 65, 79; miscarriage to be 
treated as, 116; premature, 114, 
142, 152; overtime, 142; no two 
alike, 150, 173; preparation for, 
154, 183; child born before doc- 
tor's arrival, 158; the doctor's 
presence, 157, 158; room and bed, 
158, 159, 160, 170; articles needed 



for, 158 to 167; no fuss about 
dress, 161, 181; antiseptics, 164, 

165, 180; douches and syringes, 

166, 238; good and bad patients, 
173; confidence in doctor, 175; 
duration of labor, 178; visitors, 
180; diet during, 201, 202; the 
breasts, 202, 211 to 225; tempera- 
ture of food, 202; stimulants, 82, 
202; passing water, 203; "after- 
pains," 204; getting up, 205 to 
210; bowels after, 206; concealed, 
174, 207, 208; going downstairs, 
209 

Consequences of former venereal 

disease, 118, 287 
Constipation: 43, 97, 98; diet for, 

43, 97, 98 
Constitution of parents, 118 
Constitutional defects, 81, 118, 119 
Consumption, 63, 94, 215 
Continued cohabitation unfavorable 

to conception, 264 
Contraction of womb, 106, 127, 143 

to 149 
Control: powers of, influenced by 

doctor, 175 
Convulsions: 250, 251, 252; pre- 
monitory symptoms, 250, 251; 

causes of, 251; and rickets, 251; 

treatment, 251, 252 
Cordials and soothing syrups, 253 
Cord: the, 50, 126, 158, 176, 177, 

243; should never be pulled, 177; 

when to cut, 177 
Corsets, 19, 112, 161 
Cotton wool plug, 156 
Cow's milk: tubercular, 225 
Cracked and sore nipples, 215, 218, 

219, 220 
Cramps during labor, 149, 186 
Criminal abortion: its serious dan- 
ger, 120 to 125, 130 
Criminal negligence, 139, 140 
Croquet, 35, 2>7 
Cross-births, 198, 199 
Cutting the teeth, 251 
Customs: old fashioned, 164, 216 
Cycling: 35,, 83; injudicious, z^\ 

excessive inducing abortion, 83 

Dangerous trades for wives, 119 

Dangers of: bone deformity, 16, 
18; epileptic fits, 91; quack medi- 
cines, 124 

Darkened color during pregnancy, 
61 

Date of delivery: how reckoned, 
^7> 79 

Deafness, 91 

Death: of embryo or foetus, 68, 69, 
116; after operation for procur- 
ing abortion, 121 



329 



INDEX 



Deception: attempts at, 123, 269, 

274, 275 
Deformed child: never anticipate, 

195 

Deformities, 16 to 22, 46, 47, 247 
to 249, 286, 320 

Deftness of doctor's hands, 184 

Delivery: painless, 78; when to ex- 
pect, 67, 79; accelerated, 93, 155; 
necessity for horizontal position 
after, 106, 107; signs of ap- 
proaching, 150 to 153; haemor- 
rhage before proper time for, 156; 
head born before doctor's ar- 
rival, 158 

Delusions, 231 

Depraved appetite, 62 

Depression of spirits, 115 

Development, mental and physical, 
for safe child-bearing, 13 to 25 

Diabetes, 2n 

Diet: 19, 40, 41, 43, 82, 88, 97, 
98, 201, 202, 206, 216, 221, 251, 
254, 256; improper, 19, 251, 256; 
for constipation, 43, 97, 98; dur- 
ing pregnancy, 82; after labor, 
201, 202; during confinement, 
201, 202, 206; and milk supply, 
216; while weaning, 221; and 
convulsions, 251; for complexion, 
320 

Diapers, 166, 181, 226 

Diarrhoea, 99, 251, 256 

Difficulty of diagnosing pregnancy, 
66 

Digestion: affected by tight-lacing, 
21; and happiness, 39, 40, 323; 
during pregnancy, (>2y 81 

Disadvantage of erect posture, 6, 
21, loi to 107 

Discharges, 53, 60, 69, 90, 128, 129, 
132, 22Zy 226y 227, 236 to 239, 
243, 286 

Disease: of kidneys, 90; of womb 
or ovaries, 130 

Diseases causing miscarriage, 118 
to 120 

Disinfection, 229 

Dislocation of joints, 247 

Displacements: 15, 22^ 85, ^6, 87, 
105, 125, 233; of child in womb, 
1^7, 198; through sitting up too 
soon, 209 

Dissipated habits, 118 

Doctor: the, 70 to 79, 134 to 141, 
146, 147, 148, 154 to 158, 237; 
confidence inspired by, 74, yj, 79, 
134, 153, 175, 192, 252; when to 
seek his advice, 70, yZy 76, 88 to 
94, 116, 128, 130, 131, 132, 154, 
155, 229, 230, 233, 252; how to 
choose, 76, 140; need to engage 
before-hand, 75, 76; fees, 75, y6, 



140; consultation necessary, 120. 
121; warning against outcasts of 
the profession, 121, 122; erron- 
eous opinions respecting, 122, 
135, 246; attempts to bribe or de- 
ceive a, 123, 274, 275; what to do 
until he comes, 131, 155, 156, 
158; should not be a stranger, 
134, 146, 147, 148; married or 
single, 135, 136; elderly or young, 
136; or widwife, 137, 138, 139; 
better absent until needed, 157, 
185; examination by, 78, 129, 
175, 177, 183, 184; must decide 
about instruments, 187, 188; an- 
tiseptics, 183; and chloroform, 
190 to 193; his reputation, 122, 
123, 246 

Douche bag, 238 

Douches, 90, 166, 188, 236 to 239 

Drainage tube, 224 

Dress: during pregnancy, 108 to 
113; at confinement, 160, 161; 
proper pride in, 316, 317, 318 

Drink: what to, 41, ^2, 131, 177, 
202; habit, 41, 82, 119, 202, 262 

Driving, ^jy 82, 209 

Dropsy, 91 

Drugs, 97, 216 

Drug-taking, 42, 97, 119, 120, 124, 
125, 130 

Dyspepsia: 216, 256; chronic, 88 

Early training for motherhood, 10 
to 26 

Easy confinement, 14, 149, 150 

Elastic stockings, 55, 93 

Electric needle: dangers of, 320 

Electrolysis, 320 

Embryo at various stages, 49 to 52 

Enema: 97, 153, 154, 206; syringe, 
166, 2Z7 

Engaging a doctor, 74, 75, y6 

Epileptic fits, 25, 90 to 93, 250; 
warning of, 91; treatment, 92 

Epileptics: high mortality at child- 
birth, 92; should not marry, 25, 
92 

Erysipelas, 120, 141, 229 

Examination by doctor: 78, 175, 
183; how to save much discom- 
fort, 129; patient's feelings stud- 
ied, 184 

Excessive: child-bearing, 19; vomit- 
ing, 88, 89; suckling, 19, 232 

Excitement: evil of, 42, 131, 141 

Exercise: necessity for regular, 34, 
97; suitable for pregnancy, 82, ^z 

Exhaustion, 155, 2Z2 

Eye-drops, 321 

Face: swelling, 90; spots on, 320; 

dryness of hands or, 320 
Faintness, 65, 86 



330 



INDEX 



Falling of the womb, 86, 87, 106, 
107, 20s, 209, 233 

Falls^ 86, 126, 199 

False: pains, 168; shame, no 

Family dissensions, 258, 259, 292 
to 307 

Feeding bottles, 256 

Feet and legs swelling, 55 

Fertilization of the ovum, 49, 143, 
276 

Feverishness, 132, 201, 220, 223 

Fever: milk, 220; puerperal, 22jy 
228; scarlet, 119, 229; caused by 
cold, 228 

Fevers, 87, 119, 12,0 

Fifth month: womb at, 52; week, 
embryo at, 50 

First: confinement, 53, 75, 76, 150, 
171, 178, 215, 223, 228; preg- 
nancy, 53, 70, 87, 156 

Fits: 15, 25, 90 to 93; symptoms 
presaging, 91; treatment during, 
93; hysterical, 92 

Flannel: clean new, 165, 181 

Flattened bones: result of, 46 

Flatulence : simulating pregnancy, 
109; mistaken for "pains," 152 

Floodings, 127 

Flowers of sulphur, 98 

Foetus: the, 276; development of, 
49. 50, 143; sex, 50; end of sixth 
month, 50; seven and half months, 
50; sustenance, 511 movements, 
64; heart sounds, 67^; position of, 
51, 67; death of, 68, 69, 115, 126, 
128, 129; misplaced, 85; miscar- 
riage of, 114, 116, 127; dangerous 
employments and, 119; contract- 
ing fevers, 120; dead, remaining 
in womb, 126, 129; haemorrhage 
after expulsion of, 128; killed by 
haemorrhage, 128; water on brain, 
200 

Fontanelles, 16 

Food: 19, 40, 41, 43, %2, 88, 89, 
97, 98, 201, 211 to 225; artificial, 
19; of infant, 19, 82, 211 to 225; 
improper, 17, 19, 40; temperature 
of, 202; breast-fed babies healthy, 
213 

Forceps, 187, 192, 199 

Fourth: month, foetus, 50; month, 
womb at, 52; week, embryo at, 
50 

SFresh air: necessity of, 34, 43 

Frequency of miscarriages, 114 

Fruitful issue after repeated mis- 
carriages, 133 

Full-time child: length . of, 50; 
weight of, 50 

Furred tongue, 228 

Gall ointment, 94 



Gatherings, 243 

General: debility in the mother, 

199, 202, 232; health of mother, 

224, 234 
Generation: organs of, 22^ 48, 53, 

102, 105, 247, 287 
Gestation: period of, 142 
Glycerine: and belladonna, 217, 

221; and tannin, 220 
Golf, 35 

Grey powder, 252 
Griping, 254 
Groin, 105, 149 

Growth of the foetus, 49, 53, 54 
Gruel, 177, 201 

Haemorrhage: 58, 94, 115, 126, 
127, 128, 130, 131, 154, 155, 156,158, 
196, 201, 22^^ 230, 248; internal, 
126; persisting, after expulsion of 
foetus, 128, 131; lasting effects, 
130; rest on back for, 131; first 
aid, 131; Placenta Praevia, 154, 
155; avoidance of hot drinks and 
stimulants, 156; with twins, 196; 
after confinement, 206, 209, 227 

Hairs on the face, 320 

Handkerchief -sling for breasts, 217, 
220, 223 

Happiness: its influence, 39; how to 
attain, 39; question of health, 322 
to 325 

Hare-lip, 248 

Harem: the Eastern, 309 

Hazeline ointment, 94 

Headache, 98, 228 

Head: adaptation of child's, 148, 196, 
197; why born first, 52, 168, 172, 
196; born before doctor's ar- 
rival, 158 

Heartburn, 98 

Heart-sounds of foetus, (i^ 

Health: during pregnant state, 37, 
38, 54, 84 to 100; best prepara- 
tion for marriage, 29, 30; influ- 
ence on future children, 39, 118, 
119; rules, 34 to 44, 81 to 84, 98; 
generally improved during preg- 
nancy, 84; and breast-feeding, 
214, 217; defective general, 217; 
cheapest and best wealth, 257; 
and happiness, 322 to 325; license 
for marriage, 325 

Healthy motherhood: woman's chief 
aim, 100 

Hernias, 103 

"High stomach" mistaken for preg- 
nancy, 109 

Hip-bones, 45, 102, 109 

Honeymoon: the, 31 to 33, 281, 282, 
283, 324 

Horizontal position after delivery, 
106, 107 



331 



INDEX 



Horse-riding, 35, 83 

Hot fomentations, 220 

How to: study appearances, 112; 

wash baby, 242 
Human attraction regulated by 

brain, 266 
Husband: age influencing foetus, 118 
Hysteria, 15, 23, 24, 25; leading to 

epileptic fits, 25 
Hysterical: symptoms, 60; fits, 92; 

women, 95, 152 

Ice-bag: 244 

Ideal wife: the, 26 

Idleness unhealthy: 42 

Illegal practices: 120 to 127 

Illicit intercourse: 56, 64, 118, 269, 
270* ^73, 287, 308 to 315 

Imagined pregnancy: 61, 2yZy 274; 
case of Joanna Southcott, 270 

Impaired vision: 91 

Impending miscarriage: signs and 
symptoms of, 115 

Importance of: lawful wedlock, i; 
properly-developed body, 10; re- 
liable information, 233 

Impregnation of the ovum: 49, 118 

Improper feeding, 16, 18, 40, 251, 

319 

Incubators: 50 

India-rubber nipple: 219 

Indication of: pregnancy, 58 to 69; 
time advanced, 52; dead foetus, 
68, 69, us 

Indigestion: cause of, 40; and con- 
vulsions, 251; and constipation, 
43; and skin affections, 319 

Inertia of the womb, 199 

Inevitable miscarriages, 128 

Infancy: care of the female child, 
15 to 18, 254, 255 

Infantile ailments, 249 to 257 

Inflamation: of the lungs, 93, 94; 
womb, 125, 228; breast, 217 

Influence of: mother on unborn 
child, 38, 96, 97; mind on body, 
72, 72, i34» 146 to 148, 151, 152; 
over indulgent habits, 118; chil- 
dren on conjugal happiness, 258 
to 263; parents on children's 
health, 324 

Injudicious friends: 71, J2y 73, 117, 
122, 152, 203 

Insanity: 15, 231, 232, 300, 317 

Instruments: 38, 46, 60, 73, 87, 88, 
104, 120, 121, 130, 132, 156, 188, 
189, 190, 195, 20s, 286 

Intercourse: illicit, 56, 64, n8; 
sexual, 49, 115, 118 

Internal: haemorrhage causing mis- 
carriage, 126; disease and dis- 
charges, 236 



Irritable temper of pregnancy, 59, 

98 
Irritating soaps: 242, 244 
Irritation: 237; of bladder and 

rectum, 125 
Itching: 90, 236 

Jaundice: 119 

Jealousy: 292 to 307; difficult to de- 
fine, 292, 293, 294, 295; founded, 
292, 305, 306; unfounded, 292, 
296, 298, 299; insane, 292, 300, 
301, 302; concealed, 292, 303, 304; 
commonsense the great preven- 
tive, 298; best safeguard against, 
298, 304 

Jolting injurious, 199, 209 

Kidneys: 74, 90, 91, 92 

Labor: 46 to 48, 93, 97, 116, 127, 

142 to 149; premature, 114; what 
it is, 143, 144; common error 
respecting, 143; too rapid, 144; 
"pains" of, 127, 134, 145, 146, 
147* i55> 158; hindered by nerv- 
ousness, 145, 146, 147, 148; why 
pains are intermittent, 148, 149; 
rest, 148, 149; first indications of, 
150 to 153; womb contractions, 

143 to 149, 151; worry, 151, 152; 
no mistaking real "pains," 153; 
the bowels before, 152, 153; the 
nurse, 154; pronounced haemor- 
rhage, 156; room and bed, 158, 
159. 170; walking beneficial first 
stage, 159; absence of fuss, 161, 
162; three stages of, 168; pro- 
gress of, 168, 169; patient should 
not leave room, 170: head passing, 
170, 171, 172; waters have 
broken," 128, 169, 199; tempera- 
ment influencing, 173; doctor's 
influence, 175; absolute rest after, 
176; haste harmful, 176; time 
occupied by, 177, 178; exposure 
of patient, 184; obstruction dur- 
ing, 188; chloroform, 190 to 193; 
better without chloroform, 191, 
192; difficulties and delays in, 
194 to 200; diet after, 201, 202 

Lactation: and menstruation, 64, 
222; and stimulants, 82, 202; 
milk secretion, 201, 205; purpose 
of breasts, 212; the child's health, 
213; good for the mother, 214; 
when inadvisable, 215 
Lady doctors: 7, 60 
Lard : i 64 

Large families: 288, 289 
Late hours: unhealthiness of, 42 
Lawful wedlock: importance of, i 



332 



INDEX 



Lead: lotion, 90; ointment, 94; 

poisoning and miscarriage, 119; 

solution, 90, 237, 239 
Legs, 83 
Length of: full time child, 50; 

pregnancy, 49, 142, 143 
Leucorrhaea, 236, 237 
Limitation of families, 288 to 290 
Linen: clean, 156, 165, 218; scorch- 
ed to protect navel, 243 
Linseed poultice, 228, 243 
Lint, 181, 218 
Loss of: appetite, 88, 228; blood, 

202, 232 
Lotions, 90, 163, 164, 218, 219, 237, 

238, 239 
Lower abdomen, 21, 45, 85, loi, 103, 

152 
Lungs: inflammation of, 93, 94 
Lysol, 165 

Malformations of generative or- 
gans, 2iTt 286, 287 

Malnutrition, 19 

Marks: mother's, 96, 97 

Marriage: the fit and unfit, 11, 23 
to 25, 90 to 92; requirements for, 
II, 12; preparation for, 28, 29; 
unhappy, 258 to 263; protective 
armor against excess, 308 

Massage of nipples, 219 

Measles, 119 

Meat, 40, 82, 98, 320 

Medicines, 89^ 97, 98, 204, 206, 217, 
320 

Membranes: 127, 132, 22^, 227; 
containing fluid, 168, 169 

Menstruation, 5, 22, 62 to 64, 79, 
103, 115, 116, 122, 127, 129, 130, 
265, 276; stoppage of, 62 to 64, 
122, 129; and lactation, 64, 222; 
its purpose, 276; pregnancy with- 
out, 278, 279 

Mental depression, 259 

Methods of obtaining painless de- 
livery, 78 

Micro-organism causing puerperal 
fever, 228 

Midwife: 75, 134 to 141, 177, 178, 
180, 237; or doctor, 136; to 
choose, 137; her duties, 137; 
when doctor also is needed, 138, 
178, 180, 197, 198; jealousies, 139; 
knows too much, 140; good and 
bad, 140, 141; her limitations, 
178; and puerperal fever, 227 ', 
old custom, 243 

Milk: diet, 201; secretion, 201, 205, 
214, 215, 216, 220, 221, 223; first, 
an aperient, 216; obstruction, 216, 
223; too abundant,^ 216; scanty, 
216; drying, 217; thin, watery, its 
cause, 217; fever, 220, 22Z\ ducts, 



223; and medicine, 217, 224; leg, 
230; mothers' value of, 245 

Mind: importance of sound mind, 
14, 24 

Miscalculating time, 152 

Miscarriage: yZy 85, 87, 89, 94, 114 
to 133; frequency of, 114; signs 
and symptoms of impending, 11$; 
signs and symptoms, 127; most 
frequent period for, 115; causes, 
115; most dangerous time for, 
116; danger of, 117, 129, 130; 
severe after effects, 117; neglect- 
ed, 117; spontaneous, 118, 125; 
accidental, 118, 126; former 
venereal diseases and, 118, 119; 
dangerous trades and, 119, 120; 
pain of operation leading to, 119; 
penalties for procuring, 120, 121; 
criminal folly of attempting to 
procure, 123, 125; through death 
of fcEtus, 125; haemorrhage and 
pain, 127; in late pregnancy, 127; 
incomplete, 127; threatened, 127, 
128; inevitable, 127, 128; "miss- 
ed" one, 129; self treatment un- 
til doctor arrives, 131; time in 
bed for, 132; treat as full term 
confinement, 132; how to avoid, 
113, 132; douching and syringing 
after, 2^7 

Miscarry: advice to women who, 
131 

"Missed" one: the, 129 

Moles, 96 

Monstrous births, 195, 246 

Monthly periods: See menstruation 

Morning sickness: 62, 63, 88, 89; 
distinct from ordinary vomiting, 
62\ (See also vomiting) 

Mortality: smallness of childbed, 
78; of epileptics, 92 

Motherhood: woman's highest of- 
fice, I, 3; fit and unfit for, 11; 
sound mind and body required 
for, 13; health necessary, 38, 39; 
delights of, 181, 182 

Mother's: influence on unborn child, 
37, 96, 97; marks, 96, 57; milk, 
I9» 37» 211 to 225; milk saves 
trouble, 214 

Motoring, 35 

Mouth to be closed during labor, 
172 

Mucous discharge, 53, 60, 6z 

Muscles; important part played by, 
13; giving way, 55» 87; proper 
training of, 23 

Muscular: contraction, 143; weak- 
ness, 15 

Mustard: plaster, 228, 252; and 
water footbath, 252 



333 



INDEX 



Naevus, 248 

Napkins, 158 

Nasty taste in mouth, 69, 115 

Naturally fed baby thrives, 214 

Nature's course, 157, 193, 264 

Nausea, 62, 127 

Navel, 51, 55, 143, 243 

Nerves, 23, 133, 149 

Nervous: fears, 8, 9, 59, 151, 152, 
281, 283; affections improved by 
pregnancy, 60, 96; system and 
womb disorder, 23, 24, 274, 286; 
defects, early treatment for, 25; 
diseases, cause of, 41; disturb- 
ances during pregnancy, 59, 87; 
and sensitive women, 134, 146, 
147, 148, 149 

Neuralgia, 59, 88 

Ninth month: womb at, 52 

Nipple: glass, 215, 219; guard, 219; 
shield, glass, 219 

Nipples: 50, 60, 61, 63, 215, 
219, 220, 222; cracked or sore, 
215, 218, 219, 220, 222 

Normal births: 52; the rule, 60, 195 

Nurse: the, 129, 137, 141, 175, 176; 
her duties, 129, 165, 170; quali- 
ties required in her, 137, 138, 
141; young nurses, 141; fussy, 
141, 147; should be in readiness, 
154; Placenta Praevia, 154, 156; 
value of good, 156, 157; every 
women should have, 160; antisep- 
tics, 165, 166, 179, 180, 181; and 
the after-birth, 177, 180; should 
not help birth, 178; valuable 
knowledge, 180; discretion about 
visitors, 181; wet, 222; contagious 
diseases, 227; bathing baby, 242, 
243, 244; care of baby's navel, 
243, 245; old custom, 243; ignor- 
ance respecting breasts ot baby, 
254, 255 

I 

Obstruction during labor, 188 

Offensive discharges, 70, 128, 236 

Ointments, 94 

Operations, 95, 120, 121, 235, 247, 
248, 286, 320 

Opiates, 204 

Organs of generation, 22, 48^ 53, 
102, 105 

Ovaries: 22, 24, 49, 50, 85, 130; 
tumors of, 200 

Oversuckling, 19, 119 

Ovum, 49, 50, 114, 115, ii6» 127, 
143, 276, 277, 290 

Oxide of zinc, 244, 320 

Pain: symptom of miscarriage, 127, 
128, 131, 132; causing miscar- 
riage, 118 

Painless delivery, 78 



Painful breasts, 217 

Pain-killers, 204 

"Pains" of labor: 127, 134, 146, 

147, 157, 158 to 159, i68j_ 176, 
178, 199; hindered by sensitive- 
ness, 134, 145, 146; intermittent, 

148, 149; false alarms, 151; real 
pains unmistakable, 153; assisted 
by patient, 170, 171; no hurry, 
171; when absent, 199 

Paralysis: 90; of abdominal muscles, 

145 
Pelvic: bones, 19, 45, 78, loi; de- 
formity of, 46, 78; cavity, 45, 48, 

50, 105, 196, 207; outlet, 47, 97; 

and abdominal pressures, §6, 89, 

125 
Pelvis: i, 17, 45, 97, 102, 103, 105, 

125, 196; deformity of the, 18, 

46, 198; floor of the pelvis, 46, 

234 
Perineum: 87, 106, 188, 234; torn, 

188, 228, 234, 235; neglected tears 

in, 234, 235 
Permangarrate of potash solution, 

165, 166, 239 
Personal appearance, 108 to 113, 

316 to 321 
Pessaries, 234 
Phantom tumor, 273, 274 
Physical : fitness for marriage, 1 1 ; 

defects, 272, 273 
Pigeon-breast, 17, 21 
Piles, 94, 98, 105 
Pills: 98, 206; quack, warning 

against, 124 
Pin-pricks causing convulsions, 251 
Placenta: See afterbirth 
Plasters, 217, 221, 228 
Plugs, 156 
Poisons causing miscarriage, 119, 

120, 130 
Poisonous solutions: danger of, 164, 

238 
Polypus, 132 

Port-wine: 82; stain, 248 
Position: of child in womb, 52, 67; 

at birth, 52; of patient during 

labor, 184 
Posture in man and animals com- 
pared, 6, 21, loi to 107 
Poultices, 224, 228 
Powder for baby, 244 
Pregnancy: imagined, 65, 270, 271, 

273; indications of former, 56; 

weaning and, 222 
Pregnant state: the better adapta- 
tion of animals, 6; constitutional 
defects, 47, 81; previous health, 

36, 37, 53. 54; natural life dur- 
ing, 83; length of, 49, 142T ad- 
vancement in, 52; first pregnancy, 
53» 70, S7, 88, 156; varicose veins, 



334 



INDEX 



54, 67] signs and symptoms, 58, 
59; mental and nervous changes, 
59; cultivation of serenity, 60; 
conditions of breasts, 60, 99; 
darkened color, 60, 61 ; digestive 
system, 61; saliva, 61, 89; morn- 
ing sickness, 61, 62, 88; menstrual 
stoppage, 61, 62; continued 
menstruation, 63; date of deliv- 
ery, 65; foetal movements, 65; 
difficulty of diagnosing, 66; 
tumors, 66; heart-sounds of foetus, 
67, 68; death of foetus, 68, 69, 
lis; value of patience, 70; in- 
judicious friends, 71, 72^ 73^ 117, 
122, 152; life during, 81, 100; 
diet, 81, 97, 98; exercise, 82, 83; 
stimulants, 82; civilization, 83; 
rest needful, 84; ailments and ill- 
nesses during, 85 to 99; health 
usually improved, 84; disease and 
miscarriage, 85; displacements, 86; 
excessive vomiting, 86, 88, 89; 
conditions under which medical 
advice should be sought, 86, 88, 
89, 90, 91, 92; bearing down 
pains, 86; accidents or falls, 87; 
prolapse of womb, 87, 88; short- 
ness of breath, 89 r itching, 90; 
use of douche, 90; solutions and 
lotions, 90; dress during, 108 to 
113; terrible result of drug-tak- 
ing, 123 

Pregnant woman: health of, 36^ 37, 
53, 78 to^ 100; should avoid un- 
pleasant sights, 59, 97 

Premature birth, 114; labor, 93, 94, 
114; labor induced by worry, 151, 
152 

Prepuce; long, 247 

Pressure: during labor, 148, 149, 
150, 151; abdominal and pelvic, 
86, 89; upon back passage, 151, 
170, 171 

Prolapse of womb, 87, 88, 107, 204, 
205, 234 

Proper pride, 317 

Pubis: bone of the, 52 

Puerperal fever, 128, 227 to 230; 
causes of, 227; law relating to, 
227; symptoms, 228, 229 

Puerperal ;iiiania, 231, 232; symp- 
toms of, 231 

Puerperal woman: health of, 94, 
228 

Pulse, 179, 229 

Purgation to be avoided, 131 

Pustules, 320 

Quack medicines, 125, 253 
Quacks: warning against, 122, 123, 

125 
Quickening, 65 



Recreation, 35 

Rectum: 143, 237; irritation of, 125 

Recumbent posture: advantages of, 
89» 93. 98; imperative, 106, 107, 
131, 132, 204, 210 

Reputation: the doctor's, 246 

Rest: 54, 55, 84, 88, 93, 228; be- 
tween pains at labor, 149, 176; 
absolute after delivery, 162, 176, 
204 to 210; for "milk leg,'* 230 

Retention of afterbirth, 116 

Rhubarb pills, 98 

Rickets: 15, 16, 17, 18, 46, 251; 
caused by malnutrition, 18; result- 
ing in deformed pelvic bones, 46 

Riding, 35, 83 

Roller towel: use during labor, 161 

Rubbing breasts: caution against, 
217, 220, 221, 222 

Rules for health, 34 to 44 

Ruptures: 103, 105, 248; of 
perineum, 87, 105 

Sacrum, 45 

Safety-pins, 154, 163, 251 

Saline preparations, 98 

Saliva: increased flow of, 61, 89 

Sanitary towels, 166 

Savage women and parturition, 208 

Scanty milk supply, 215, 216 

Scarlet fever, 119, 140, 228 

Scorched linen, 242 

Screams: baby's, find cause for, 254 

Second week: embryo at, 49 

Self-control, 153, 192, 193 

Self-denial, 42 

Separation: benefits of temporary, 
259, 260 

Serious nature of miscarriage, 116 

Serious symptoms, 88 to 94, 127 
to 129, 154, 155, 227 to 232, 250 
to 252 

Seven and half months: foetus at, 
50 

Seventh month: womb at, 51 

Sexual: excitement, 127, 277; inter- 
course, 49, 116, 118, 264 to 279 

Shame and endurance, 206, 207 

Shivering fit, 69, 126, 132, 159, 224, 
228, 229 

"Show: making a," 168 

Signs and symptoms: words de- 
fined, 58, 59; of impending mis- 
carriage, 115; of miscarriage, 127, 
128, 129, 131, 132; of pregnancy, 
58 to 69; of approaching labor, 
150 to 153; of previous pregnani^y, 
56, 57 

Sixth month: foetus at, 50 

Sixth week: embryo or foetus at, 50 

Size: diminishing, 115, 129; of 
child, 50, 142 

Skin: affections, 319, 320; cracks. 



335 



INDEX 



55; indications of former preg- 
nancy, 56; abdominal tumors, 57; 
irritation of, 98 

Sleeplessness, 59, 65, 98, 2^2 

Sling: for breasts, 217, 220, 223; 
for arm, 224 

Slipper bed-pan, 165, 203, 206 

Smallness of child-bed mortality, 78 

Smallpox, 119 

Soap: plaster, 222', for new-born 
baby, 242, 244 

Soda water, 178 

Soft tumor, 132 

Solutions, 90, 164, 165, 218, 219, 
239 

Soothing syrups, 253, 254 

Souffle, 67 

Spermatozoa, 49, 276^ 277, 27S, 290 

Spine: the, 17, 22 

Spontaneous miscarriage, 117; causes 
of, 117, 118, 126 

Sponges condemned, 165, 181, 218 

Spots: round nipples, 61; and 
blotches on face, 319, 320 

Stairs: patient to be carried down, 
209 

Starch: powdered, 244, 320 

Sterility; 280 to 287; voluntary, or 
unwilling, 258, 259, 266, 282, 283, 
284; causes, 280, 286; its cure, 
285, 286 

Stethescope, 67 

Stimulants, 41, 42, 82, 156, 178, 202, 
203 

Stitches, 188 

"Stomach," 45; irritable condition 
of the, 88 

Stout, 82 

Substitution: attempted, 274, 275 

Suckling: 214, 219, 220, 222; and 
further conception, 64; over, 19, 
232; beneficial to mother, 214, 
227; child too weak to, 219; length 
of time, 220; and further preg- 
nancy, 222; menstruation, 64, 
222; discharging breast, 225; 
hindered by tongue-tie, 249 

Sulphate of soda, 98 

Suppositories, 97 

Surgical cleanliness, 164, 183 

Swollen: organs of generation, 53; 
feet and legs, 54, 93; face, hands, 
etc., 90, 91; child's head, 172; 
breast-glands, 254, 255 

Symptoms: dead foetus, 68, 69, 115; 
pregnancy, 58 to 69; impending 
miscarriage, 115; miscarriage, 126, 
127, 128, 129; serious, 88 to 93, 
127 to 129, 154, 15s, 227 to 233, 
249 to 252 

Syphilis, 118 

Syringes, i66, 236 to 239 

Syringing; when to avoid, 131 



Tannin: solution of, 219; glycerine 

and, 220 
Tea, 177 
Teeth, 251 
Temperature: of food, 202; in 

puerperal fever, 229 
Temporary separation: benefits of, 

259, 260, 261, 267 
Tennis, 35 
Thighs, 149 
Third month: foetus at, 50; most 

likely time for miscarriage, 115 
Three months: womb at, 51 
Thrush, 256 
Tight-lacing: 19; results of, 20, 21, 

22 
Time: of birth, 143; occupied by 

labor, 178 
Tumors: 57, 65, 66, 67, 95, 103, 105, 

125, 248; phantom, 27^^ 274 
Tonics: 236 
Tongue-tie, 249 
Treatment: of unduly excitable 

girls, 25; for convulsions, 251, 

252 
Triplets: percentage of births, 195 
Trouble with breasts, 202, 216 to 

225 
Tubercular cows, 225 
Tubes: drainage, 224; feeding, 256 
Twins: 68, 72, 88, 124, 194; size 

no proof of, 194; usually small 

children, 194; percentage of 

births, 195 
Twitching of face or limbs, 250, 

251, 252 

Uncleanliness, 220, 227, 317 
Uncomplicated birth, 18 
Unconsciousness, 92, 188, 191, 193, 

250 
Unfaithfulness: conjugal, 259, 273, 
308 to 315J differing standards of, 
308, 309; must be proved, 310; 
influence on children, 311; fre- 
quent causes of, 312, 313; and 
temperament, 313; hasty mar- 
riages conducive to, 315 
Unhealthy state: indications of, 89 
Unhappy marriages, 258 to 262 
Un perceived miscarriage, 116, 117 
Unpleasant sensations about body 

and loins, 115 
Unreasonable dislikes, 232 
Unskilful handling, 197, 198 

Vagina, 49, 66, 67, 144, 156, 166, 
171, 177, 178, 188, 189, 228, 237, 
238, 278 

Vaginal: canal, 106; passage, 169, 
196, 199; douching or syringing 
236; discharges, 236, 237; tube 
for syringe, 237, 238 



336 



INDEX 



Varicose veins, 54, 55, dT, 82, 93, 
98 

Vaseline, 156, 164, 165 
Veins: blue, on breasts, 60, 62 
Venereal diseases; their lasting ef- 
fects, 118 
Ventilation: results of defective, 43 
Vision: impaired, 91 
Vomiting: 58, 62, 63, 86, 87, 127, 
250; and morning sickness, 63; 
excessive, 85, 87, 88, 119; during 
labor, 177 

Waddling gait indicates flattened 

bones, 18 
Walking: 35, 82, 83; during first 

stage of labor, 159 
Water: 54, 63, 86; passing after 

labor, 203; frequent passing, 158, 

234; on tke brain, 200; brash, 98; 

drawing off, 203' 
Water-proof sheeting, substitutes 

for, 160, 161 
Waters are broken, \2%, 169, 199 
Weaning, 220, 221; diet while, 221 
Wedding preparations: the best, 29 
Weight of child, 50, 142 
Wet nurse: 222\ how to choose, 

222 
Wetting the bed, 248 
White lines on abdomen, 56, 57 
"Whites" of Leucorrhaea, 236, 237, 

238 
Wife: the, should study her appear- 
ance, 108 to 113, 316 to 321; her 

duty, 318; the ideal, 26 



Woman: compared with animals, i, 
5, 13, 14, 15, 21, 84, 100, lOI to 
107, 206, 211, 212, 220, 264, 265 

Women who should not marry, 24, 
92, 94 

Womb: anatomy of, 48; displace- 
ment, IS, 22, 23, 51, 52, 206, 209; 
nervous disorders, 23; prolapse, 
or coming down, 87, 88, 107, 
204, 205, 2ZZ\ position of child 
in, 51; sinking, 52, 151; bent 
backwards, 86, 125; dropping or 
falling of, 105, 106, 107; fever 
conveyed to foetus, 120; inflamma- 
tion of, 125, 22^, 22S, 2^6; dead 
foetus remaining in, 126; contract- 
mg, 68, 107, 127, 143 to 149, 151, 
204; substances decomposing in, 
128; disease following miscarriage, 
130; removing afterbirth, 132; at 
labor, 143, 144, 145, 149; neck of 
the, 87, 144, 235; pains due to 
nerves, 151; three stages of labor, 
168; head opening, 168, 196; 
wrong position in, 170, 187, 248; 
abnormal positions in, 195, 196; 
inertia of the, 196; tumors, 65, 66, 
67, 94, 103, 196; disease and dis- 
placements of, 209; breast-feeding 
influencing, 227; malformation 
causing sterility, 286 

Worry: evil results of, 151, 152, 

^^7 ... 

Wrong position in womb, 168, 187, 
196 

Zinc: ointment, 94; oxide, 244, 320 



337 



